Head to head · Boys' names
Moises vs Vicente
#587 vs #589 in 2025
Moises is a whisker ahead (#587 vs #589 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Moises is stepping back from its peak, Vicente is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Vicente 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 4 measures of 6; Vicente leads 2.
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: Moises —, Vicente #795 — Vicente higher
- 1890s: Moises #907, Vicente #859 — Vicente higher
- 1900s: Moises #1214, Vicente #971 — Vicente higher
- 1910s: Moises #2381, Vicente #962 — Vicente higher
- 1920s: Moises #1433, Vicente #722 — Vicente higher
- 1930s: Moises #1271, Vicente #719 — Vicente higher
- 1940s: Moises #1271, Vicente #768 — Vicente higher
- 1950s: Moises #1081, Vicente #785 — Vicente higher
- 1960s: Moises #798, Vicente #738 — Vicente higher
- 1970s: Moises #609, Vicente #610 — Moises higher
- 1980s: Moises #493, Vicente #564 — Moises higher
- 1990s: Moises #403, Vicente #562 — Moises higher
- 2000s: Moises #350, Vicente #589 — Moises higher
- 2010s: Moises #456, Vicente #725 — Moises higher
- 2020s: Moises #543, Vicente #676 — Moises higher
Vicente stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Moises has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Moises | Vicente |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #795 |
| 1890s | #907 | #859 |
| 1900s | #1214 | #971 |
| 1910s | #2381 | #962 |
| 1920s | #1433 | #722 |
| 1930s | #1271 | #719 |
| 1940s | #1271 | #768 |
| 1950s | #1081 | #785 |
| 1960s | #798 | #738 |
| 1970s | #609 | #610 |
| 1980s | #493 | #564 |
| 1990s | #403 | #562 |
| 2000s | #350 | #589 |
| 2010s | #456 | #725 |
| 2020s | #543 | #676 |
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
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.
Vicente
conquering, prevailing
From Latin Vincentius, a derivative of vincere, 'to conquer'.
Vincentius → Vincent → Vicente
How it traveled
The Latin name Vincentius was popular among early Christians, for whom the idea of prevailing had a particular weight. Saint Vincent of Saragossa, a deacon martyred in the early fourth century, became patron of Lisbon and of Portugal, and Cape St Vincent on the Portuguese coast still carries his name — as São Vicente, the same name in Portuguese dress.
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
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.
Vicente
vee-SEN-teh
Stress on the middle syllable, and the final -e is sounded, not silent. Brazilian Portuguese softens the ending toward vee-SEN-chee; in most of Spain the c is a soft th, vee-THEN-teh.
- Vince — The everyday English-facing short form; also stands alone as a given name.
- Chente — A long-established Mexican Spanish hypocorism, informal and affectionate, used among family and friends.
- Vicentico — Spanish diminutive, informal; used for children and as a stage or nickname among adults.
- Vicen — Clipped Spanish form, informal, common in Spain.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
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 Vicente's 3
Choose Vicente if you want…
- a name on the way upup 175 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itVicente runs 3 syllables, Moises 2
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
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.
Vicente
Strengths
- Works unchanged in Spanish, Portuguese and English-speaking settings, with Vincent as the ready English counterpart.
- Spelled the way it sounds in Spanish, and short enough to write early: seven letters, no silent quirks.
- Carries centuries of established short forms — Vince for English contexts, Chente and Vicentico for family ones.
To consider
- English speakers often flatten the ending to 'vih-SENT' or reach for Vincent instead. Most families settle into one correction and let the rest go.
- The soft-c difference between Spain and Latin America means the name is said two ways by people who both consider theirs correct — worth deciding which you use at home.
- It is uncommon enough here that a child is unlikely to meet another. That means no last-initial in the classroom, and also a name that has to be spelled out on the phone now and then.
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 Moises and Vicente 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 Moises and Vicente?
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 Moises and Vicente — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Moises or Vicente — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Moises or Vicente?
- Moises, in 2025: Moises ranked #587 with 502 babies; Vicente ranked #589 with 498 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Moises or Vicente?
- Vicente. Over the last five years Moises moved down 79 places; Vicente moved up 175 places.
- Which is the older name, Moises or Vicente?
- Moises entered the US charts in 1893; Vicente entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, Vicente is the older name.
- How many people are named Moises and Vicente?
- About 29,500 people named Moises are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 19,000 people named Vicente are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Moisess or Vicentes in the classroom?
- Moises will almost certainly be the only one in school. Vicente 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 Moises, Vicente and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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