Boys' name · since 1880

Moses

Moses has 43,291 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2016 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#551 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#515 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
43,291
born since 1880
2010s
peak decade

43,291 babies have been named Moses since 1880, making it today's #515 boys' name.

Moses has 43,291 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #515 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #551 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #515 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 43,291 born since 1880
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Moses ranks #551 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #515 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 43,291 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.

#551 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#515 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
43,291
born since 1880
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%96.3%
Moses vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Moses's 43,291 recorded births place it above 98.78% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

44 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Moses compares

43,291 Top 4% higher than 96% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Moses's all-time total is 117x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Moses Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 43,291 369 358,536
Peak-year births 669 34 22,252

Moses's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Moses's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 65% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 35%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1901, with only 52 births recorded -- set against the 2016 peak of 669, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Moses popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (2016)
669
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
0200400600800 188018991918193719561975199420132025 583

Moses popularity over time - girls

51 total births recorded since 1925 (Moses as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 51 births
45678910 19251939194619561978197919872025 6

Moses by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (5,789 births, 13% of the file).

2010s was Moses's strongest decade.

5,789 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 13% of all-time use.

Moses births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 5,789 births (13% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Moses compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Moses's total volume

Moses vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 406080100120140160 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 2.6%-146, 1.9%-130, 2.8%-126, 2.4%-146, 1.8%-112, 3.2%-144, 3.7%-141, 8.6%-146, 7.1%-146, 2%-63, 4.1%-123, 3.5%-144, 3.2%-129, 2.1%-146, 3.5%Moses-146, 1.5%Moses
Moses vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Moses by state

Where Moses concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Moses
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
5,162 11.9%
#2 Texas
4,602 10.6%
#3 New York
4,000 9.2%
#4 South Carolina
2,202 5.1%
#5 Georgia
2,166 5.0%
#6 Florida
1,873 4.3%
#7 North Carolina
1,813 4.2%
#8 Virginia
1,374 3.2%
California share of Moses's total US births 11.9%
Even split

5,162 of 43,291 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.

Moses appears in 44 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Moses?
Since 1880, Social Security records show 43,291 babies named Moses. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #551 of 45,481 boys' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #515 of 13,930 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 2016, with 669 births.
Where does Moses sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Moses ranks #551 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #515 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Moses most popular?
Moses was most popular in the 2010s decade with 5,789 total births. The single peak year was 2016.
Where is Moses most popular?
The top states for the name Moses are California (5,162 births), Texas (4,602 births), New York (4,000 births).
How long has the name Moses been used?
Moses has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Moses?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Moshe, Mose, Mosiah, Mostafa, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Moses's data

  • Moses's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (5,789 total births) through the 2020s (3,479) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • California records the most Mosess (5,162 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Moses

Nearby Names Like Moses

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Moses

Names with a similar popularity rank to Moses

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Moses: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Moses draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.