Moses surname meaning

Moses is taken from the Biblical personal name of the Exodus leader, Hebrew Moshe. The name is probably Egyptian in origin but early acquired a Hebrew folk etymology from mshh, “to draw out,” linked to the Nile story. As a hereditary surname it is Jewish, Welsh (where Biblical given names became fixed surnames), African American, and African—especially Nigerian—among other communities. Moss and Moyes can be related English forms in some lines. Parent’s name is high confidence: across these traditions the surname is the personal name used as a family name, not a place or trade.