Mose
Masculine · “drawn out of water”
Mose is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 7,935 boys against 55 girls since 1880.
Mose is Moses without the Greek ending — the name as English families actually said it, written down. Behind it is a figure whose own name may be Egyptian rather than Hebrew, which the biblical text half admits.
How old is the name Mose?
Mose was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Mose alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 2,400 people named Mose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mose most popular?
Mose peaked in 1882, reaching #176 nationally. Today it ranks #4139, 3,963 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Moshe to Mose
The story of Mose
Moses is the central figure of the Hebrew Bible's founding narrative, and the name has been carried continuously in Jewish communities for three thousand years. Christian Europe used it sparingly until the Reformation opened the Old Testament to ordinary families. In nineteenth-century America it was in wide use, particularly in the South, and the shortened Mose was registered as a legal name in its own right, standing in the top two hundred for boys in the 1880s.
Meaningscholars disagree
drawn out of water
Exodus explains the Hebrew Moshe from a verb meaning to draw out, because the child was drawn from the Nile. Many scholars instead read it as the Egyptian mes, 'born of' or 'child', the element in Thutmose and Ramesses — which would make it an Egyptian name given by an Egyptian princess, exactly as the story describes. Both readings are serious.
How the name formed
- Moshe
- Mouses
- Moses
- Mose
Related forms: Moshe · Moisés · Mosè · Musa
Pronouncing Mose
MOHZ
One syllable, rhyming with 'rose'. Moses is two; this spelling drops the ending that Greek added.
Nicknames for Mose
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1918152 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #176reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- +38.9%25 in 2025, from 18
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.
Mose in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Moshe in Hebrew — related form
- Moisés in Spanish — related form
- Mosè in Italian — related form
- Musa in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania, New York.
Moses among us
people named Mose are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 68,323 born in 2025 was named Mose
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
Mose 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
Where Mose is headed
Mose should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mose beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mose in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three thousand years of continuous documented use, which almost no other name can claim.
- It is recognized in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions alike.
- One syllable, plain and unmistakable.
- The origin is genuinely split between a Hebrew and an Egyptian reading.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century in American records.
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What they receive
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Mose
Masculine · #4139 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moses are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Mose are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mose in 2025?
- Mose ranks #4139 among US boy names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mose?
- About 1 in every 68,323 US boys born in 2025 was named Mose — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mose with classmates?
- Mose will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mose
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lucious#4139 · Karsten#4139 · Nikita#4139 · Hasani#4139 · Jomar#4139 · Fionn#4139 · Josey#4139 · Earnest#4139
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mose? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mose and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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