Moussa
Masculine
Moussa is Moses as West Africa says it, and the name's meaning is one of the better arguments in biblical scholarship. Exodus says it is Hebrew for drawn out of the water. The evidence says it is Egyptian for child.
How old is the name Moussa?
Moussa first appears in US birth records in 1988 — 37 years ago. The typical Moussa alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 1,100 people named Moussa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Moussa most popular?
Moussa peaked in 2013, reaching #2594 nationally. Today it ranks #3089, 495 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Moshe to Moussa
The story of Moussa
Musa is a prophet in the Qur'an as Moses is in the Hebrew Bible, and the Arabic form spread with Islam. West African languages reshaped it as they reshaped the whole Arabic stock — Moussa in Senegal, Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, where the double s is French spelling for a sound Wolof and Mandinka both have. It reaches United States records with families from that region, and the spelling itself tells you which road the name took.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Exodus explains the name from Hebrew mashah, 'to draw out', because the child was drawn from the river — but that is Pharaoh's daughter speaking Hebrew, which is unlikely, and the form does not work cleanly. The better-supported reading is Egyptian mose, 'child' or 'born of', the element in Thutmose and Ramose. So the text gives one answer and the philology gives another, and both have been defended for centuries.
How the name formed
- Moshe
- Musa
- Moussa
Related forms: Musa · Moshe · Moses · Musa
Pronouncing Moussa
MOO-sah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long oo. The ou is French spelling for that vowel, since French was the administrative language across the region; the doubled s keeps it unvoiced.
Nicknames for Moussa
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
- 1988
- Most boys named
- 201346 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2594reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- +18.2%39 in 2025, from 33
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.
Moussa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Musa in Arabic — same name
- Moshe in Hebrew — same name
- Moses in English — same name
- Musa in Turkish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
Moussas among us
people named Moussa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 43,797 born in 2025 was named Moussa
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 Ason test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Moussa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ason climbed just as high around 1982, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ason's path sketches the road Moussa is walking now.
Moussa 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 Moussa is headed
Moussa 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.
Moussa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Moussa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Recognized across Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions alike.
- Six letters, entirely phonetic once the ou is understood, and easy to say.
- Moses stands beside it as the familiar English form, which makes it easy to place.
- Its meaning is genuinely argued between the biblical explanation and the Egyptian one.
- The ou is French and English speakers may read it as an English ow.
- Moussa, Musa and Moses are one name in three very different-looking spellings.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Moussa to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Moussa? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Moussa
Masculine · #3089 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moussas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Moussa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Moussa in 2025?
- Moussa ranks #3089 among US boy names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Moussa?
- About 1 in every 43,797 US boys born in 2025 was named Moussa — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Moussa with classmates?
- Moussa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Moussa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aadi#3089 · Wynston#3089 · Braelyn#3089 · Leopoldo#3089 · Zaedyn#3089 · Saxon#3089 · Rehan#3089 · Cree#3089
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Moussa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Moussa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle