Moses

Where Moses comes from

From Latin Mōsēs, from Ancient Greek Μωσῆς (Mōsês), from earlier Μωυσῆς (Mōusês), from Biblical Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (mōšê). Further etymology is unclear, but it is sometimes conjectured to derive from Egyptian ms-s (msj, “to give birth to”), a common element in Egyptian names of the form ‘[name of deity] is the one who bore him’; or, alternatively, contains Egyptian N35A (mw, “water”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Moses
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1729
    Moses Mendelssohn born
    German-Jewish philosopher and theologian
  2. 1880
    First SSA year, and the peak
    #119 among boys with 111 babies — the first year on record, and still its best.
  3. 1901
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #237.
  4. 1955
    Moses Malone born
    American basketball player
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Moses Mendelssohn · German-Jewish philosopher and theologian, 1729–1786
  • Moses Malone · American basketball player, 1955–2015
  • Moses Hess · German philosopher, 1812–1875
  • Moses of Chorene · 5th-century Armenian historian, 410–490
  • Moses Simon · Nigerian association football player, born 1995

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.