Moshe
Meaning
form of Moses, traditionally "drawn out of water"
The story
Moshe is the Hebrew form of Moses. In Exodus, Pharaoh's daughter explains the name through a Hebrew verb meaning to draw out because she drew the child from the water. Scholars also note that the form may be related to an Egyptian element meaning son or child, familiar in royal names such as Thutmose. The biblical wordplay and the possible Egyptian route can coexist as parts of the name's long history. Moses becomes the central lawgiver and leader of the Exodus in Jewish tradition and a major prophet in Christianity and Islam. The US curve first registers around the middle of the twentieth century, stays low for several decades, rises in the 1990s, and reaches its highest point in the 2020s. Moshe keeps the living Hebrew form visible beside English Moses. It is ancient in source and continuous in Jewish use, even where its American chart looks newly ascendant.
On record since at least the 12th century: Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides).
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Moshe peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
69 people · the #53,441 first name in Brazil · median age 25
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Moshe
Most people given the name Moshe in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Moshe deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Moshe truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Moshe fits with your family’s names and surname.
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