Head to head · Boys' names
Maximilian vs Moises
#590 vs #587 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Moises is a whisker ahead (#587 vs #590 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Each name in full: Maximilian · Moises
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Moises leads 5 measures of 6; Maximilian leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Maximilian — stepping back from its peak. About 18,500 people named Maximilian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Moises — stepping back from its peak. About 29,500 people named Moises are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Maximilian —, Moises #907 — Moises higher
- 1900s: Maximilian #1345, Moises #1214 — Moises higher
- 1910s: Maximilian #2787, Moises #2381 — Moises higher
- 1920s: Maximilian #3302, Moises #1433 — Moises higher
- 1930s: Maximilian #3183, Moises #1271 — Moises higher
- 1940s: Maximilian #3560, Moises #1271 — Moises higher
- 1950s: Maximilian #3632, Moises #1081 — Moises higher
- 1960s: Maximilian #2739, Moises #798 — Moises higher
- 1970s: Maximilian #1894, Moises #609 — Moises higher
- 1980s: Maximilian #1105, Moises #493 — Moises higher
- 1990s: Maximilian #642, Moises #403 — Moises higher
- 2000s: Maximilian #492, Moises #350 — Moises higher
- 2010s: Maximilian #448, Moises #456 — Maximilian higher
- 2020s: Maximilian #557, Moises #543 — Moises higher
Moises stood higher in 13 of 14 decades; Moises took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maximilian | Moises |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #907 |
| 1900s | #1345 | #1214 |
| 1910s | #2787 | #2381 |
| 1920s | #3302 | #1433 |
| 1930s | #3183 | #1271 |
| 1940s | #3560 | #1271 |
| 1950s | #3632 | #1081 |
| 1960s | #2739 | #798 |
| 1970s | #1894 | #609 |
| 1980s | #1105 | #493 |
| 1990s | #642 | #403 |
| 2000s | #492 | #350 |
| 2010s | #448 | #456 |
| 2020s | #557 | #543 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Maximilian
greatest
From Latin maximus, 'greatest', through the Roman name Maximilianus, an extended form of Maximus.
Maximus → Maximilianus → Maximilian → Max
How it traveled
The root is the Latin adjective maximus, and the longer Maximilianus was already in use in the late Roman world — borne by early Christian martyrs venerated in the Alpine and Balkan provinces. The name became a fixture of the House of Habsburg from the fifteenth century, when Maximilian I was elected Holy Roman Emperor, and from there it spread through Austria, Bavaria and the Catholic German-speaking lands as a princely and then an ordinary given name.
Moises
either "drawn out (of the water)" or Egyptian "son, born of"
Exodus 2:10 explains the name from the Hebrew root meaning to draw out, since the infant was drawn from the Nile. Scholars of Egyptian have long pointed instead to the element mose, "son" or "born of," the same piece that ends Thutmose and Ramose. Both readings are seriously held, and the name is old enough to hold both.
Mosheh → Mōusēs → Moyses → Moisés → Moises
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Mosheh, borne by the figure at the center of the Exodus story. The Jewish translators who produced the Greek Septuagint wrote it Mōusēs; Latin Bibles turned that into Moyses, and from the Latin came Spanish Moisés, Portuguese Moisés and French Moïse.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Maximilian
mak-si-MIL-ee-un
Four syllables in relaxed American speech (mak-si-MIL-yun) is equally standard. German speakers say mak-si-MEE-lee-ahn, with the stress further forward and a long ee in the middle.
- Max — The default short form in English and German alike, and long established as a standalone given name in its own right.
- Maxi — Standard informal form in Austria and southern Germany; used in English-speaking homes mainly in early childhood.
- Maximo — Occasionally used informally where the Spanish forms are also current; Máximo also exists as a separate given name.
- Milo — An informal pull from the middle of the name rather than a traditional short form; Milo is also a full name of its own.
Moises
moy-SESS
Three syllables in careful Spanish (mo-ee-SESS), usually compressed to two, always with the stress at the end. English speakers who know Moses often reach for MOY-zeez instead, so a gentle correction is part of the deal. The accented spelling Moisés makes the stress explicit.
- Moi — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; rarely used as a name on its own.
- Moy — Phonetic spelling of the same short form, common in writing among US Spanish speakers.
- Mo — The English-language shortening, shared with Mohammed, Morgan and Maurice.
- Moe — Older English spelling of Mo, still attached to the Moses line.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maximilian if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMaximilian is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMaximilian runs 5 syllables, Moises 2
Choose Moises if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesMoises is 2 syllables to Maximilian's 5
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Maximilian
Strengths
- Comes with Max already built in — a short form so established that no explaining is ever needed, at any age or in any setting.
- Recognized on sight across German, Spanish, Italian, French and Polish, each with its own spelling of the same name.
- A documented line running from Roman antiquity through the Habsburg emperors to the present, with no gap in use.
To consider
- Maximillian, with a double L, is a persistent misspelling, and forms will often come back that way. Worth deciding early whether you correct it every time or let it go.
- Five syllables invite shortening, so in practice the child may be Max nearly all the time — and Max is considerably more common than the full name. If that trade doesn't appeal, this is the wrong long form.
- It sits close to Maximiliano, Maximo and Maximus, so expect occasional mix-ups, particularly in places where the Spanish forms are also widely used.
Moises
Strengths
- Recognized across Spanish, Portuguese, English, French and Arabic-speaking countries, through the same biblical figure in each.
- One of the oldest continuously used names on record, with a documented line from Hebrew through Greek and Latin.
- Has a ready-made short form, Moi, already in everyday use rather than invented on the spot.
To consider
- The accent matters. Moisés tells a reader where the stress falls; Moises leaves it open, and English speakers will often guess MOY-zeez by analogy with Moses. Expect to choose one spelling and repeat the pronunciation more than once.
- It sits beside Moses, and some people will assume the two are interchangeable or write one for the other. They are the same name, which makes the mix-up understandable but no less frequent.
- The biblical association is unavoidable and, for many families, the whole point — worth knowing that it comes with the name whether or not you intend it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Maximilian and Moises in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Maximilian and Moises?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Maximilian and Moises — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maximilian or Moises — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maximilian or Moises?
- Moises, in 2025: Moises ranked #587 with 502 babies; Maximilian ranked #590 with 497 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maximilian or Moises?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Maximilian moved down 97 places; Moises moved down 79 places.
- Which is the older name, Maximilian or Moises?
- Maximilian entered the US charts in 1907; Moises entered the US charts in 1893. On the American record, Moises is the older name.
- How many people are named Maximilian and Moises?
- About 18,500 people named Maximilian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Moises are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maximilians or Moisess in the classroom?
- Maximilian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Moises will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Maximilian, Moises and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap