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Moses Family History

Moses Name Meaning

Jewish Welsh African American and African (mainly Nigeria): from the Biblical personal name borne by the Israelite leader who led the Israelites out of Egypt as related in the Book of Exodus. The Hebrew form of the name is Moshe . It is probably of Egyptian origin from a short form of an ancient Egyptian personal name such as Rameses or Tutmosis meaning ‘conceived (by a god)’. However very early in its history the name acquired a folk etymology being taken as a derivative of the Hebrew root verb mshh ‘extract or draw (something) e.g. from water’ and was associated with a story of the infant Moses being discovered among the bullrushes by Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 1-10). As a Welsh surname it was adopted among Dissenter families in the 18th and 19th centuries. In North America this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages for example Italian Moise Hungarian Mózes (see Mozes ) Assyrian/Chaldean Moshe Arabic Musa . English: variant of Moss with post-medieval excrescent -s. English: variant of Moyses a Cornish personal name derived from Middle English Moises a vernacular form of Moses (see 1 above).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Moss, Mose, Moises, Moyes, Mones, Mosey, Osen, Maser, Moser, Mozes

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Where is the Moses family from?

You can see how Moses families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Moses family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Moses families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 599 Moses families living in London. This was about 20% of all the recorded Moses's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Moses families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Moses surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Moses ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Moses. 10% of Moses men worked as a General Labourer and 69% of Moses women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Moses were Builders Labourer and Housewife. .

View Census Data for Moses | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    10%
  • Colliery Hewer
    8%
  • Farmer
    5%
  • Builders Labourer
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    69%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Domestic Duties
    2%
  • Housewife
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Moses family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 195,000 census records available for the last name Moses. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Moses census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 30,000 immigration records available for the last name Moses. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 33,000 military records available for the last name Moses. For the veterans among your Moses ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Moses lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Moses life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1943, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Moses in 1943 was 33, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Moses

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