Mordechai
A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "warrior" or "servant of Marduk".
Name Census estimates that about 6,445 living Americans carry the first name Mordechai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mordechai today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mordechai births was 2018 (315 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mordechai. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
6.4K
~ 1 in 53,181 Americans
Peak year
2018
315 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#966
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Mordechai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mordechai from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,100 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mordechai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mordechai by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mordechai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mordechais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Mordechai, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 837 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mordechai
The name Mordechai is a Hebrew name derived from the Biblical figure Mordechai, who appears in the Book of Esther. It is believed to have originated from the Persian name Mardukha, which was related to the Babylonian god Marduk. The name Mordechai gained widespread usage among Jewish communities worldwide, particularly after the events described in the Book of Esther.
In the Book of Esther, Mordechai is depicted as the cousin and guardian of Queen Esther, who played a pivotal role in saving the Jewish people from genocide at the hands of the Persian king's advisor, Haman. Mordechai's refusal to bow down to Haman led to a plot to annihilate the Jews, which was ultimately foiled through the bravery of Esther and the intervention of the king.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mordechai can be found in the Book of Esther itself, which is believed to have been written around the 5th century BCE. Throughout Jewish history, the name has held significant cultural and religious importance, often given to commemorate the heroic actions of the Biblical figure.
Mordechai Gur (1935-1995) was an Israeli military leader who served as the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1972 to 1978. He played a crucial role in the Yom Kippur War and is credited with turning the tide of the conflict in Israel's favor.
Mordechai Vanunu (born 1954) is an Israeli former nuclear technician who revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. His actions led to his imprisonment for 18 years and sparked international debate about nuclear proliferation and whistleblowing.
Mordechai Kaplan (1881-1983) was an American rabbi and philosopher who founded the Reconstructionist movement in Judaism. He aimed to modernize and adapt Jewish thought and practice to the contemporary world, emphasizing the evolving nature of Jewish civilization.
Mordechai Anielewicz (1919-1943) was a Polish-Jewish resistance leader who commanded the Jewish Combat Organization during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the German occupiers in 1943. He became a symbol of Jewish resistance against the Nazi regime.
Mordechai Ardon (1896-1992) was an Israeli painter and sculptor, considered one of the leading figures in the development of modern Israeli art. His works were influenced by Cubism and explored themes of the Israeli landscape and Jewish identity.
People
Mordechai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mordechai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mordechai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mordechai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,445 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mordechai going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 53,181 US residents.
Is Mordechai a common name?
We classify Mordechai as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,578 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mordechai most popular?
The single biggest year for Mordechai was 2018, when 315 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mordechai is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mordechai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mordechai in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.