Head to head · Boys' names
Mohamed vs Moses
#527 vs #515 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Moses is a whisker ahead (#515 vs #527 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Moses leads 5 measures of 6; Mohamed leads 1.
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
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Mohamed —, Moses #158 — Moses higher
- 1890s: Mohamed —, Moses #192 — Moses higher
- 1900s: Mohamed —, Moses #210 — Moses higher
- 1910s: Mohamed —, Moses #264 — Moses higher
- 1920s: Mohamed —, Moses #301 — Moses higher
- 1930s: Mohamed —, Moses #332 — Moses higher
- 1940s: Mohamed #3231, Moses #375 — Moses higher
- 1950s: Mohamed #3520, Moses #441 — Moses higher
- 1960s: Mohamed #3043, Moses #543 — Moses higher
- 1970s: Mohamed #2057, Moses #489 — Moses higher
- 1980s: Mohamed #894, Moses #482 — Moses higher
- 1990s: Mohamed #634, Moses #540 — Moses higher
- 2000s: Mohamed #478, Moses #475 — Moses higher
- 2010s: Mohamed #450, Moses #490 — Mohamed higher
- 2020s: Mohamed #546, Moses #513 — Moses higher
Moses stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Moses took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mohamed | Moses |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #158 |
| 1890s | — | #192 |
| 1900s | — | #210 |
| 1910s | — | #264 |
| 1920s | — | #301 |
| 1930s | — | #332 |
| 1940s | #3231 | #375 |
| 1950s | #3520 | #441 |
| 1960s | #3043 | #543 |
| 1970s | #2057 | #489 |
| 1980s | #894 | #482 |
| 1990s | #634 | #540 |
| 2000s | #478 | #475 |
| 2010s | #450 | #490 |
| 2020s | #546 | #513 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mohamed
- France#21
- Canada#100
Moses
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Mohamed
praised, praiseworthy
From the Arabic root ḥ-m-d, to praise; muḥammad is the passive participle, "the praised one". The same root gives the related names Ahmad, Hamid and Mahmoud.
Muḥammad (Arabic محمد) → Mahomet (medieval European renderings) → Mohamed
How it traveled
The name belongs to Arabic and to the Prophet Muhammad, born in Mecca in the sixth century, after whom it spread wherever Islam did — Arabic-speaking lands first, then Persia, Turkey, the Indian subcontinent, the Horn of Africa, Southeast Asia and West Africa. Because Arabic script does not write short vowels, every language that borrowed the name had to choose how to spell it in Latin letters, and that is why Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad and Mohamed all exist as versions of the same word.
Moses
Either 'drawn out of the water' or 'son, born of' — the two readings compete
The Book of Exodus supplies the Hebrew reading, tying the name to mashah, 'to draw out', because the child was drawn from the river. Many scholars of Egyptian instead connect it to the element ms or mose, 'son, born of', the same piece that ends Thutmose and Ramesses. Both readings are serious, and the name has carried both for a very long time.
Mosheh → Mōusēs → Moses
How it traveled
The name begins in Hebrew as Mosheh, borne by the central figure of the Exodus narrative. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Mōusēs, Latin took it as Moses, and English inherited that spelling essentially unchanged — a rare case of a name crossing three languages without being reshaped.
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
Mohamed
moh-HAM-ed
In the US you will also hear MOH-ha-med and, closer to Arabic, muh-HAM-mad, with a doubled m. All are recognized as the same name; families usually settle on one and it sticks.
- Mo — The usual informal short form in English-speaking countries; also stands alone as a name and is shared with Maurice, Morris and Moses.
- Momo — Informal and affectionate, widely heard among French-speaking families and in the diaspora.
- Med — A clipped form used in North African and French contexts, mostly among friends and family.
- Hamada — An Egyptian familiar form, used within the family rather than in formal settings.
- Also Hamdi.
Moses
MOH-ziz
Two syllables, stress on the first. The final syllable is usually a soft -ziz, though MOH-zis and MOH-zez are both heard. The Spanish Moisés and Arabic Musa sound quite different, which is worth knowing in a bilingual family.
- Mo — The everyday short form; also stands alone as a given name and serves as the nickname for Mohammed, Maurice and Monica.
- Moe — Same sound, fuller spelling, more often seen among older generations.
- Mose — An older American short form, one syllable, still heard in the South.
- Moss — Used occasionally, mainly in Jewish families where it also exists as a surname.
- Also Moshe.
One short form, two names
- Mohamed and Moses both shorten to Mo.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mohamed if you want…
- a name fewer children share#527 in 2025 — mohamed will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMohamed runs 3 syllables, Moses 2
- a name that charts abroad tooMohamed is on the national lists of France and Canada
Choose Moses if you want…
- a name most people already know#515 in 2025, 583 babies that year
- a name holding steadyMoses is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesMoses is 2 syllables to Mohamed's 3
- a long American recordMoses was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Mohamed
Strengths
- One of the most widely borne names in the world, so the spelling and sound are recognized across languages, scripts and continents.
- Mo is an established English short form, ready-made for playgrounds and workplaces without any explaining.
- Mohamed is the standard Latin-letter spelling in Egypt and the Maghreb and in French-speaking countries, which gives it a settled written home.
To consider
- Four spellings — Mohamed, Mohammed, Mohammad, Muhammad — are all in real use for the same name, so he will spend a lifetime confirming which one is his, and forms will sometimes come back wrong.
- Stress placement varies between English and Arabic speakers, and between one family and the next. Deciding early which pronunciation you will correct people towards makes it simpler later.
- The name is inseparable from the Prophet, which for many families is precisely the reason to give it; it also means the name carries public weight, and in some settings in the US it invites assumptions the child did not ask for.
Moses
Strengths
- Recognized and spelled correctly almost everywhere in the English-speaking world, with no competing variant spellings to correct.
- Has a form in most major languages — Moshe, Musa, Moisés, Moïse — so it travels without becoming unrecognizable.
- Comes with ready-made short forms in Mo and Moe, both long established and neither invented on the spot.
To consider
- The biblical association is total. Nobody hears this name without thinking of the Exodus figure first, and that is not a connection the name can be given a break from.
- The final -s makes the possessive awkward in writing — Moses' or Moses's, both defensible, neither settled — and forms will occasionally record it as a surname.
- It reads as an adult name more than a baby name, and currently sits with a noticeably older typical bearer. Some parents like that weight; it is worth knowing it is there.
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 Mohamed and Moses 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 Mohamed and Moses?
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.
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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 Mohamed and Moses — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mohamed or Moses — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mohamed or Moses?
- Moses, in 2025: Moses ranked #515 with 583 babies; Mohamed ranked #527 with 568 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mohamed or Moses?
- Mohamed. Over the last five years Mohamed moved up 29 places; Moses moved down 22 places.
- Which is the older name, Mohamed or Moses?
- Mohamed entered the US charts in 1943; Moses was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Moses is the older name.
- How many people are named Mohamed and Moses?
- About 19,000 people named Mohamed are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Moses are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Mohamed and Moses share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Mo, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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