Moses is a surname derived from the Biblical Moses . It can be of either Jewish , Welsh , or English origin.[ 1] The Hebrew form of the name, Moshe , is probably of Egyptian origin, from a short form of any of various ancient Egyptian personal names, such as Ramesses and Tutmose , meaning "conceived by (a certain god)". The Arabic form of the name is Musa . However, very early in its history it acquired a folk etymology, being taken as a derivative of the Hebrew root verb mšh , "to draw (something from the water", a reference to the story of the infant Moses being discovered among the bulrushes by Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:1-10).[ 2] As a Welsh family name, it was adopted among Dissenter families in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As a North American family name, it has been an anglicization of foreign forms of the name, such as Moise , Moshe , or Mozes .[ 3]
People with this name include:
A. Dirk Moses (b. 1967), Australian historian
Adolph S. Moses (1840–1902), German-American rabbi
Albert Moses (1937–2017), Sri Lankan-born British actor
Alfred Moses (politician) (1977–2022), Canadian politician
Alfred H. Moses (b. 1929), American attorney and diplomat
Alfred Huger Moses (1840–1918), American banker and investor
Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860–1961), "Grandma Moses ", American folk artist and painter
Anthony John Moses (b. 1942), Welsh scientist
Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American civil rights activist
Bob Moses (musician) (b. 1948), American jazz drummer
Bob Moses (rugby league) (1940–2017), Australian rugby league footballer
Brian Moses (b. 1950), English poet
Burke Moses (b. 1959), American actor
Carl E. Moses (1929–2014), American businessman and politician from Alaska
Charles Moses (1900–1988), English head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Charles Moses (athlete) (b. 1954), Ghanaian sprinter
Charles L. Moses (1856–1910), American politician
Dan Mozes (b. 1983), American football player
Daniel David Moses (1952–2020), Canadian poet
David Moses (c. 1925 –1999), Welsh rugby union, and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s
David Lokonga Moses (contemporary), Sudanese politician, governor of Yei River State , South Sudan
Dylan Moses (born 1998), American football player
Ed Moses (artist) (1926–2018), American artist
Ed Moses (physicist) (contemporary), American physicist
Ed Moses (swimmer) (b. 1980), American swimmer
Edwin Moses (b. 1955), American track and field athlete
Franklin J. Moses Jr. (1838–1906), American politician
Franklin J. Moses Sr. (1804–1877), American attorney, planter, politician, and judge
George H. Moses (1869–1944), American diplomat
Glyn Moses (1928–2021), Welsh rugby union, and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s
Hagin ben Moses (fl. 1255–1290), English rabbi
Harry Moses (1858–1938), Australian cricketer
Haven Moses (b. 1946), American football player
Helen Moses (1905–1985), American swimmer
Henry Moses (engraver) (1781–1870), English engraver
Henry Moses (politician) (1832–1926), Australian politician
Henry C. Moses (1941–2008), American educator
Ingrid Moses (b. 1941), Australian academic
Isaac S. Moses (1847–1926), German-American rabbi
Itamar Moses (b. 1977), American author
J. C. Moses (1936–1977), jazz drummer
J. J. Moses (b. 1979), American football player
Janice Moses , Trinidadian cricketer
Jimmy Moses (b. 1965), Indian actor, playback singer, stand-up comedian, and mimicry artist
Joel Moses (1941–2022), Israeli-American computer scientist
John Moses (Norwegian politician) (1781–1849), member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
John Moses (Illinois politician) (1825–1898), Illinois judge and politician
John Moses (American politician) (1885–1945), governor of North Dakota
John Moses (baseball) (b. 1957), American baseball player
John Moses (priest) (1938–2024), English clergyman
John A. Moses (b. 1930), Australian historian, history educator, and Anglican priest
Kareem Moses (b. 1990), Trinidadian footballer
Lincoln Moses (1921–2006), American biostatistician
Louie Moses , American businessman
Margaret Veronica Moses (1940–1975), Australian Sister of Mercy, teacher, poet and orphanage administrator
Mark Moses (b. 1958), American actor
Merrill Moses (b. 1977), American Olympic water polo player
Mikaella Moshe (b. 2003), Israeli Olympic archer
Miriam Moses (1884–1965), British politician
Mitchell Moses (b. 1994), Australian-born Lebanese international rugby league footballer
Noah Mozes (1912–1985), Israeli newspaper publisher and managing editor
Pablo Moses (b. 1948), Jamaican singer
Paul B. Moses (1929–1966), American art historian and educator
Paul J. Moses (1897–1965), American physician and academic
Paulus Moses (b. 1978), Namibian boxer
Quentin Moses (1983–2017), American football player
Raphael J. Moses (1812–1893), American lawyer, plantation owner, Confederate officer, and politician
Remi Moses (b. 1960), British footballer
Rick Moses (b. 1952), American actor and singer/songwriter
Robert Moses (1888–1981), city planner for New York City
Senta Moses (b. 1973), American actress
Shelia P. Moses , American author
Ted Moses (b. 1950), Canadian politician
Teedra Moses , American R&B singer and songwriter
Victor Moses (b. 1990), Nigerian born English footballer
Wally Moses (1910–1990), American baseball player
Wayne Moses (1955–2024), American football coach
William Moses (disambiguation)
Wilson Jeremiah Moses (b. 1942), American historian
Winfield Moses (b. 1943), American politician
Yolanda T. Moses (b. 1946), anthropologist and college administrator
^ Last name: Moses
^ Hanks & Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of Names , page 377
^ Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names , page 624-5
Hanks, Patrick, Dictionary of American Family Names (2003), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of Names , (1988), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-211592-8