Moria
Feminine · “from Moriah”
Moria is a three-syllable name that points two ways at once: to Moriah, the mountain of Abraham's great test, and to the Greek word for folly, which Erasmus made the title of a famous book.
How old is the name Moria?
Moria first appears in US birth records in 1952 — 73 years ago. The typical Moria alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 500 people named Moria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Moria most popular?
Moria peaked in 1977, reaching #3083 nationally. See the whole 1977 chart.
Where it comes from
From Moriah to Moria
The story of Moria
In Genesis, Abraham is told to take Isaac to the land of Moriah, and on a mountain there his hand is stayed; later tradition placed the Temple in Jerusalem on the same height. The Greek word mōria, folly, is unrelated, but Erasmus used it for his Moriae Encomium, The Praise of Folly, and chose it partly as a joke on the name of his friend Thomas More, in whose London house he finished the book. Moria as an American girl's name most likely comes from the Bible.
Meaningscholars disagree
from Moriah, the mountain in Genesis
Moria is most likely a spelling of Moriah, the Hebrew place-name, whose own meaning is debated. In Greek, mōria means folly, a coincidence the spelling makes visible.
How the name formed
- Moriah
- Moria
Related forms: Moriyya
Pronouncing Moria
muh-RY-uh
Most families stress the middle syllable, as in Moriah. Some say MOR-ee-uh.
Nicknames for Moria
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
- 1952
- Most girls named
- 197725 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3083reached in 1977
- Change vs 2023
- +40.0%7 in 2024, from 5
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.
Moria in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Moriyya in Hebrew — related form
Morias among us
people named Moria are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Moria sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a real biblical history.
- Mo and Ria give two short forms.
- It is rare, so she will seldom share it.
- Many readers know Moria as the dark mines in The Lord of the Rings.
- People will write Moriah or Maria.
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What they receive
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Moria
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Morias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Moria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Moria in 2025?
- Moria is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Moria with classmates?
- Moria will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Moria? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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