Moses (surname)

Moses is a surname derived from the Biblical Moses. It can be of either Jewish, Welsh, or English origin. 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). 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.

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

See also

• Moses (given name)
• Moses (disambiguation)
• Mozes (surname)
• Moise (disambiguation)

Bibliography

• 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