Moses
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. 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”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Moses (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Moses has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2014. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | 12 |
| 2004 | 6 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2006 | 10 |
| 2007 | 12 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 10 |
| 2010 | 10 |
| 2011 | 8 |
| 2012 | 6 |
| 2013 | 11 |
| 2014 | 14 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 12 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 7 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 115 |
| 2000 | 122 |
| 2001 | 133 |
| 2002 | 138 |
| 2003 | 150 |
| 2004 | 159 |
| 2005 | 168 |
| 2006 | 180 |
| 2007 | 199 |
| 2008 | 211 |
| 2009 | 227 |
| 2010 | 243 |
| 2011 | 258 |
| 2012 | 274 |
| 2013 | 293 |
| 2014 | 310 |
| 2015 | 328 |
| 2016 | 348 |
| 2017 | 358 |
| 2018 | 370 |
| 2019 | 382 |
| 2020 | 399 |
Moses in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Moses.Hi! My name is Moses.
- Moses har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Moses has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Moses kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Moses is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Moses mamma är lärare.Moses's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Moses mamma is Moses's mum. Because Moses already ends in s, nothing is added.
More names
Questions about Moses
How do you pronounce Moses in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Moses in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Moses mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. 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”).
How popular is Moses in Sweden?
7 babies were named Moses in 2022. In 2020, 399 people in Sweden had Moses as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2014 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.