This page is historical. Follow this link for the current version.
Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
☙

Moses m. Ancient Greek Μωϋσῆς from Hebrew משה 'to draw out'.

The name of a Biblical prophet, two 4th C saints, a 5th C Armenian saint, an 8th C Shiite Imam, and an 11th C Hungarian saint. Wycliffite Bible (1395): Moises, Moyses. Sagradas Escrituras (1569): Moisés.

The name was popular among Jews during the Middle Ages, and was not commonly used by non-Jews until the 16th C.

England
Latin
● 1189 Moyses (nom) GASurv p. 236; 1194 Moyses (nom) RotCur-vol1 p. 3; 1279–80 Mosseus (nom) WaHR-SK p. 32
Dutch
● 1572 Moyses AuFr Baen; 1574 Moses ibid. Angelee; 1585 Moses ibid. Bossche
Early Modern English
● 1560 Moyses CAmar-vol1 p. 1; 1572 Moyeses RegBisham p. 3; 1587 Moyses bruton1 p. 117; 1591 Moyses ibid. p. 10; 1592 Moyses ibid. p. 51; 1596 Moyses ibid. p. 55; 1597 Moyses ibid. p. 123
Walloon
● 1583/4 Moyse RWC p. 8; 1590 Moyse ibid. p. 14; 1591 Moyse ibid. p. 18; 1592 Moyse ibid. p. 21; 1593/4 Moyse ibid. p. 31; 1594 Moyse ibid. p. 31
Finland
Early Modern Swedish
● 1582 Moisze (nom) Audén1980 p. 172
France
Middle French
● 1563 Moyse RegPCC-1 p. 34; 1566 Moyse ibid. p. 265; 1588 Moïse raymond1588 p. 567
Germany
Latin
◑ 1322 Mosseke (nom) VFBStralsund 71, Mosseken (abl) ibid. 71
Italy
Latin
● 959 Moise (nom) RegSAp 1, Moisen (gen) ibid. 1
Cite as: R. Le Get, S.L. Uckelman. "Moses". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2019, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2019/1/name/Moses.