Mose

Mose is used as a German form of Moses and as an English familiar form of the same name. Its spelling therefore sits at the meeting point of a formal language variant and a nickname tradition. The water interpretation comes from the biblical account of Moses's rescue as an infant, while an older Egyptian root connected with son is also proposed.

The German and English forms need not be pronounced in the same way, despite their identical spelling. English-speaking viewers may recognize Mose Schrute from The Office, a modern fictional association alongside the much older biblical background. As a family name, Mose can preserve the exact form used by an ancestor instead of expanding it to Moses. Its substantial earlier use also gives it a place among vintage biblical-family names.