The name Moesha first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1996 with a whopping 426 baby girls:
- 1998: 122 baby girls named Moesha
- 1997: 211 baby girls named Moesha [rank: 945th]
- 1996: 426 baby girls named Moesha [rank: 548th] – debut & peak usage
- 1995: unlisted
- 1994: unlisted
It was easily the highest-debuting name of the year. In fact, it currently ranks third on the list of highest-debuting girl names of all time!
The spelling Moeisha also debuted in 1996, as did the variant forms Moeshia and Oesha.
What made the name Moesha so trendy in the mid-1990s?
The TV sitcom Moesha (pronounced moh-EE-shah), which began airing in January of 1996.
The show’s protagonist was “hip, smart and opinionated” African-American teenager Moesha Mitchell.
At the start of the series, Moesha lived in a middle-class Los Angeles neighborhood with her dad, her little brother Myles, and her new stepmom — who also happened to be a teacher at her high school. Her friends included Kim and Hakeem, and she was secretly dating a boy named Ohagi. (Ohagi, pronounced oh-HAH-jee, was a one-hit wonder in the data in 1996.)
The name of the sitcom’s main character was chosen by Sara Finney, one of Moesha‘s three co-creators. Finney, who was inspired in part by name of her niece Tiesha, explained:
We wanted a name that reflected the fact [that] a lot of African-American girls born in the 1970s and 1980s have this ‘esha’ sound at the end of their names.
The actress who portrayed Moesha was none other than Brandy Norwood — better known as mononymous R&B singer Brandy. She also sang the show’s theme song, of course.
By the time the sitcom premiered, Brandy had already scored three top-ten hits: “I Wanna Be Down,” “Baby,” and “Brokenhearted” (a duet with Wanyá Morris of Boyz II Men). Her early success on the charts accounts for the uptick in usage of the baby name Brandy in 1995.
What are your thoughts on the baby name Moesha?
Sources:
- Moesha – Wikipedia
- Bonko, Larry. “‘Moesha’ a Hit with Local Viewers.” Virginian-Pilot 26 Mar. 1996: E2.
- Iverem, Esther. “‘Moesha’: Breaking the Mold.” Washington Post 6 Feb. 1996.
- Brandy – Billboard
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Moesha