NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Moses

A Hebrew masculine name meaning "drawn from the water".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Moses is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Moses popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #678, with 54 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2018, with 76 births.

This profile covers 1,492 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 71% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,492 living people in the UK are called Moses. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Moses ranked #678 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 54 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2018, when 76 boys were registered as Moses.
  • Moses ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #535 in 2024.
  • About 1,492 living people in the UK are estimated to have Moses as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#678

2024

Births in 2024

54

Latest year

Peak year

2018

76 births

Estimated living

1,492

2026

Meaning

What does Moses mean?

The name Moses has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "moshe," which means "to draw out" or "to pull out." This name is believed to have been given to Moses because he was drawn out of the waters of the Nile River as a baby.

The name Moses is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. According to the biblical account, Moses was born to Hebrew parents during the time when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. His mother placed him in a basket and set him adrift on the Nile River to save him from the Pharaoh's decree to kill all newborn Hebrew boys. He was later found and adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter, who named him Moses.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moses dates back to around the 13th century BCE, when the biblical figure Moses is said to have lived. In the biblical narrative, Moses is portrayed as a prophet and leader who led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Moses. One of the most famous is Moses Maimonides (1135-1204 CE), a renowned Jewish philosopher, theologian, and physician who lived in Spain and Egypt. Another notable figure is Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), a German Jewish philosopher and writer who contributed significantly to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement.

Other historical figures with the name Moses include Moses ben Maimon (Rambam) (1135-1204 CE), a renowned Jewish philosopher, theologian, and astronomer; Moses Hayyim Luzzatto (1707-1747), an Italian Jewish philosopher and poet; and Moses Sofer (Schreiber Sofer) (1762-1839), a prominent Hungarian rabbi and author.

While the name Moses has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture and the biblical narrative, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and religions throughout history, often as a testament to the significant impact and influence of the biblical figure Moses.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Moses over time

The chart below shows babies named Moses registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Moses, the clearest high point is 2018. The latest England and Wales figure is 54 births in 2024, compared with 76 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Moses
019385776199620102024

Decades

Moses by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Moses was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #698 252 5
2010s #566 651 10
2000s #581 460 10
1990s #556 129 4

Geography

Where Moses is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Moses. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Moses ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #535 in 2024.

Scotland
5

Across the UK

Moses in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#535 in 2024

3 years of NRS records, 11 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Moses

  • Moses Makasi

    association football player

    English association football player (born 1995)

    1995-

  • Moses Odubajo

    association football player

    English association football player (born 1993)

    1993-

  • Moses Makinde

    association football player

    English footballer

    1992-

  • Moses Swaibu

    association football player

    English footballer (born 1989)

    1989-

  • Moses Raine

    playwright

    British playwright

    1984-

  • Moses Lim

    actor; food critic; television actor

    Singaporean actor (1949–2025)

    1949-2025

  • Moses Tyson

    librarian; historian

    British librarian and historian (1897-1969)

    1897-1969

  • Moses Lane

    association football player

    English footballer (1895-1949)

    1895-1949

Related

Names similar to Moses

FAQ

Moses: questions and answers

How popular is the name Moses in the UK right now?

In 2024, Moses was ranked #678 for boys in England and Wales, with 54 births registered.

When was Moses most popular?

The peak year on record was 2018, with 76 babies registered as Moses in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Moses?

A Hebrew masculine name meaning "drawn from the water".

How many people are called Moses in the UK?

A total of 1,492 babies have been registered as Moses across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 11 more in Scotland.

Where is Moses most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Moses ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #535 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.