Moise
Masculine · “drawn out of the water”
Moise is Moses in French, and in America it belongs above all to Haitian and Louisiana French families. Its peak here is 1902, which places it with the Louisiana Creole naming tradition rather than with the much larger Haitian presence that came later. Behind it is one of the oldest names in continuous use anywhere, and an etymology that is probably Egyptian rather than Hebrew.
How old is the name Moise?
Moise first appears in US birth records in 1902 — 123 years ago. The typical Moise alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 700 people named Moise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Moise most popular?
Moise peaked in 1902, reaching #1013 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,848 places below that high. See the whole 1902 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From mose to Moise
The story of Moise
Moses has been a name in Jewish use continuously for three thousand years and became available to Christians in Europe mainly after the Reformation. French produced Moise, and French naming carried it to Louisiana and to the French Caribbean. Haiti, whose naming tradition is French with its own strong preferences, has used Moise steadily, and it is a common surname there as well — the Haitian president Jovenel Moise made the surname internationally familiar. American records show the given name concentrated first in Louisiana around 1900 and later among Haitian-American families, which makes this one of the names whose statistical shape reflects two entirely separate communities.
Meaningscholars disagree
drawn out of the water; or, in Egyptian, 'born of'
The Book of Exodus explains the name from Hebrew mashah, 'to draw out', because Pharaoh's daughter drew the child from the river. Most modern scholars regard that as a Hebrew folk etymology attached to a name that is actually Egyptian: mose or mesu, 'son, born of', the element that ends Thutmose and Ramose — 'born of Thoth', 'born of Ra'. In that reading Moses simply means 'son', with the god's name dropped. Both explanations are serious and the Egyptian one is now the more widely accepted.
How the name formed
- mose
- Mosheh
- Moyses
- Moise
Related forms: Moise · Moshe · Moises · Mose · Musa
Pronouncing Moise
mo-EEZ
Two syllables in French, stress at the end, with a z sound and a dieresis on the i in careful French spelling that keeps the vowels separate. Haitian Creole says it the same way. English speakers often produce MOYZ, collapsing the vowels, which is the main variation heard in America.
Nicknames for Moise
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1902
- Most boys named
- 202322 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1013reached in 1902
- Change vs 2023
- −31.8%15 in 2025, from 22
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Moise in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Moise in French — same name
- Moshe in Hebrew — related form
- Moises in Spanish — related form
- Mose in Italian — related form
- Musa in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Moises among us
people named Moise are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Moise
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Moise sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Moise beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Moise in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Mo is a universally understood short form that needs no explanation.
- The name has an unbroken three-thousand-year history and a major figure behind it.
- The spelling is short and needs no accents in American systems.
- The two vowels are said separately in French and run together by English speakers.
- The accented Moise loses its mark in most American record systems.
- It will be assumed to be a surname by Americans who know the Haitian family name.
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What they receive
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Moise
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Moise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Moise in 2025?
- Moise ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Moise?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Moise — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Moise with classmates?
- Moise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Moise
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Moise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Moise and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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