Head to head · Boys' names
Mohammed vs Moises
#595 vs #587 in 2025
Moises is a whisker ahead (#587 vs #595 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Moises is stepping back from its peak, Mohammed is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Mohammed has the edge.
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; Mohammed 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
- 1890s: Mohammed —, Moises #907 — Moises higher
- 1900s: Mohammed —, Moises #1214 — Moises higher
- 1910s: Mohammed —, Moises #2381 — Moises higher
- 1920s: Mohammed #4002, Moises #1433 — Moises higher
- 1930s: Mohammed #2719, Moises #1271 — Moises higher
- 1940s: Mohammed #3339, Moises #1271 — Moises higher
- 1950s: Mohammed #3481, Moises #1081 — Moises higher
- 1960s: Mohammed #2842, Moises #798 — Moises higher
- 1970s: Mohammed #1475, Moises #609 — Moises higher
- 1980s: Mohammed #771, Moises #493 — Moises higher
- 1990s: Mohammed #600, Moises #403 — Moises higher
- 2000s: Mohammed #602, Moises #350 — Moises higher
- 2010s: Mohammed #574, Moises #456 — Moises higher
- 2020s: Mohammed #644, Moises #543 — Moises higher
Moises stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mohammed | Moises |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #907 |
| 1900s | — | #1214 |
| 1910s | — | #2381 |
| 1920s | #4002 | #1433 |
| 1930s | #2719 | #1271 |
| 1940s | #3339 | #1271 |
| 1950s | #3481 | #1081 |
| 1960s | #2842 | #798 |
| 1970s | #1475 | #609 |
| 1980s | #771 | #493 |
| 1990s | #600 | #403 |
| 2000s | #602 | #350 |
| 2010s | #574 | #456 |
| 2020s | #644 | #543 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mohammed
- England & Wales#21
Moises
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
Mohammed
praised, praiseworthy
From the Arabic root ḥ-m-d, 'to praise'. The same root gives Ahmad, Mahmud and Hamid, which are separate names rather than variants of this one.
Muḥammad (Arabic) → Muhammad → Mohammed
How it traveled
The name is Arabic, and its history in the world begins with Muhammad ibn Abdullah, born in Mecca in the sixth century, the Prophet of Islam. After him the name traveled wherever Islam did — across North Africa, into Persia and Central Asia, through South and Southeast Asia, up into the Balkans and West Africa — and each language reshaped it a little: Mehmet in Turkish, Muhamed in Bosnian, Maxamed in Somali, Muhammadu in Hausa.
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
Mohammed
mo-HAM-med
Common American pronunciation. In Arabic it is closer to moo-HAM-mad, with the doubled m held slightly and a fuller vowel in the last syllable. Both are heard in the same family without anyone minding.
- Mo — The everyday short form in English-speaking countries; also used as a standalone name and a nickname for Moses, Maurice and Monica.
- Moe — The same short form with an American spelling, more common in older records.
- Momo — Informal, mostly family and childhood use; heard in French- and Arabic-speaking communities.
- Hamada — An Egyptian familiar form, used affectionately within family rather than in formal settings.
- Also Mido.
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.
One short form, two names
- Mohammed and Moises both shorten to Moe.
- Mohammed and Moises 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 Mohammed if you want…
- a name on the way upup 46 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMohammed runs 3 syllables, Moises 2
- a name that charts abroad tooMohammed is on the national lists of England & Wales
Choose Moises if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMoises is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMoises is 2 syllables to Mohammed's 3
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
Mohammed
Strengths
- Recognized on sight almost anywhere in the world — few names cross as many languages, alphabets and borders intact.
- Mo is an established short form with generations of use behind it, and it also stands alone.
- Fourteen centuries of continuous use, with no gap and no revival needed.
To consider
- Several English spellings compete: Muhammad, Mohamed, Mohammad, Muhammed. Whichever you choose, expect to spell it out at the doctor's office, and expect any single spelling's statistics to understate how common the name really is.
- It is the Prophet's name, and in Muslim families that carries real reverence — a consideration for religious and non-religious households alike. It is also a name that occasionally meets prejudice in the US, which is worth naming plainly rather than discovering later.
- Because it is given so widely in some communities, many boys go by a middle or second name day to day. That can be an advantage or an extra thing to explain, depending on the family.
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 Mohammed 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 Mohammed 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.
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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 Mohammed and Moises — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mohammed or Moises — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mohammed or Moises?
- Moises, in 2025: Moises ranked #587 with 502 babies; Mohammed ranked #595 with 486 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mohammed or Moises?
- Mohammed. Over the last five years Mohammed moved up 46 places; Moises moved down 79 places.
- Which is the older name, Mohammed or Moises?
- Mohammed entered the US charts in 1922; Moises entered the US charts in 1893. On the American record, Moises is the older name.
- How many people are named Mohammed and Moises?
- About 16,000 people named Mohammed are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Moises are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Mohammed and Moises share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Moe and 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
Keep playing
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