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
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.
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
- Matthew 80,931
- Mohammed 74,321
- Muhammad 72,235
- Max 59,807
- Michael 47,075
- Mason 38,935
- Mohammad 25,910
- Morgan 15,994
- Muhammed 11,527
- Mark 11,336
- Marcus 11,257
- Maxwell 10,006
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.