Mousa
Masculine · “child”
Mousa is the Arabic form of Moses, and the name is very probably Egyptian rather than Hebrew — one of several in the Exodus family that do not work as Hebrew words.
How old is the name Mousa?
Mousa first appears in US birth records in 1978 — 47 years ago. The typical Mousa is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Mousa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mousa most popular?
Mousa peaked in 2025, reaching #3658 nationally. Today it ranks #3658, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Moshe to Mousa
The story of Mousa
Moses is a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike, and the Qur'an names him more often than any other figure. Arabic gives him as Musa, transliterated Mousa in French-influenced spelling and Moussa in West Africa. The name is used across the whole Muslim world and reaches American records with families from the Levant, North Africa, West Africa and South Asia.
Meaningscholars disagree
child, son
The Hebrew text explains Moshe as drawn out of the water, which is a wordplay rather than an etymology. Most scholars read the name as Egyptian mose, a child or son, the element in Thutmose and Rameses. Neither reading is universally accepted.
How the name formed
- Moshe
- Musa
- Mousa
Related forms: Musa · Moshe · Musa · Moussa
Pronouncing Mousa
MOO-sah
Two syllables, first stressed. English readers see ou and may say MOW-sah.
Nicknames for Mousa
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
- 1978
- Most boys named
- 202330 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3658reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +11.1%30 in 2025, from 27
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.
Mousa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Musa in Arabic — spelling variant
- Moshe in Hebrew — same name
- Musa in Turkish — same name
- Moussa in French — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Michigan.
Mousas among us
people named Mousa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 56,936 born in 2025 was named Mousa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mahesh test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mousa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mahesh climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mahesh's path sketches the road Mousa is walking now.
Mousa 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 Mousa is headed
Mousa should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Mousa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mousa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented figure central to three world religions.
- Mo is available immediately as a plain English short form.
- Recognized instantly across the entire Muslim world.
- English readers see ou and say ow, so expect MOW-sah until corrected.
- Musa and Moussa are the same name in other transliterations.
- The meaning is contested and the likeliest reading is Egyptian rather than Hebrew.
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What they receive
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Mousa
Masculine · #3658 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mousas 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 Mousa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mousa in 2025?
- Mousa ranks #3658 among US boy names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mousa?
- About 1 in every 56,936 US boys born in 2025 was named Mousa — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mousa with classmates?
- Mousa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mousa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jimmie#3658 · Mckinley#3658 · Menno#3658 · Claudio#3658 · Ezekial#3658 · Brandt#3658 · Benuel#3658 · Gustav#3658
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mousa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mousa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
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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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