Fun Facts About the Name Mordecai
- More than 1 thousand babies named Mordecai: U.S. records list 1,650 babies given the name Mordecai from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Mordecai Mean?
Mordecai is a Hebrew name whose meaning is not securely established. Its Hebrew form is מָרְדֳּכַי (Mordokhai). The most common explanation treats it as a name of Mesopotamian origin built on the name of the Babylonian god Marduk, which would give a sense like "man of Marduk" or "servant of Marduk." That fits the setting of the name in the Persian period, but the form does not match ordinary Akkadian or Hebrew patterns, so the derivation remains a proposal rather than a settled fact. A traditional Jewish interpretation reads the name as Hebrew mor dror, "pure myrrh"; this is a later symbolic wordplay rather than a literal etymology. Because no derivation is fully proved, the meaning is best described as uncertain.
Mordecai Name History & Origins
The best-known bearer of the name is Mordecai in the Book of Esther, set in the court of the Persian king Ahasuerus (commonly identified with Xerxes I). He is described as a Benjaminite of the family of Kish living in Susa, and as the guardian who raised his orphaned cousin Hadassah, better known as Esther. When he refuses to bow to the vizier Haman, Haman plots to destroy the Jews, and the story ends with Mordecai honored and placed second in the kingdom. The festival of Purim, which retells this story, has kept the figure - and the name - in Jewish memory for centuries. A Mordecai also appears in the lists of those who returned from Babylonia with Zerubbabel in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7; whether that is the same person is not clear.
The name moved from Hebrew into Greek as Mardochaios in the Septuagint and into Latin as Mardochaeus in the Vulgate, and these forms lie behind the English spelling. "Mordecai" came into English through the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Bible translations, and the King James Bible of 1611 helped fix it in that form.
In Jewish communities the name continued in use through the Middle Ages and into modern times, taking local shapes such as Yiddish Mordkhe, Polish Mordka and Mordechaj, and Italian Mordechai. In German-speaking lands, Jews sometimes used Marcus or Max as a civil name alongside or instead of Mordechai. In modern Israel, Mordechai is a familiar given name, often shortened to Moti.
How Popular is the Name Mordecai?
Mordecai has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #1,715 in 2022.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,100 | 70 | 0.0041% |
| 2024 | #2,046 | 74 | 0.0043% |
| 2023 | #1,946 | 80 | 0.0047% |
| 2022 | #1,715 | 99 | 0.0057% |
| 2021 | #2,073 | 71 | 0.0041% |
| 2020 | #1,795 | 84 | 0.0049% |
| 2019 | #2,057 | 71 | 0.0040% |
| 2018 | #2,201 | 63 | 0.0035% |
| 2017 | #2,147 | 64 | 0.0035% |
| 2016 | #2,080 | 68 | 0.0036% |
| 2015 | #2,319 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 2014 | #2,453 | 52 | 0.0027% |
| 2013 | #2,450 | 51 | 0.0027% |
| 2012 | #3,038 | 38 | 0.0020% |
| 2011 | #3,668 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2010 | #4,633 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #4,235 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2008 | #5,010 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 2007 | #6,943 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #4,630 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2005 | #4,584 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #3,961 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2003 | #4,742 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2002 | #5,960 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #8,067 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #6,679 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #5,921 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #6,155 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #8,917 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #8,527 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #6,187 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #5,528 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #6,241 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #5,293 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #6,469 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #4,437 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #5,292 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #3,621 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #4,049 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #5,998 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #5,825 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #6,455 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #3,762 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #3,368 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #3,846 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #5,412 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #4,259 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #4,550 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #3,841 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #3,803 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #2,339 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #3,244 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #3,223 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1961 | #3,933 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #2,501 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1959 | #3,198 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1958 | #3,196 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #2,599 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1956 | #4,303 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1955 | #4,215 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1954 | #2,683 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #3,673 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #2,797 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #3,232 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #3,584 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #4,021 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,632 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #3,858 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #3,212 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #3,037 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #3,146 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #3,911 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #2,397 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1936 | #3,905 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1935 | #3,528 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #2,487 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1932 | #3,643 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1931 | #2,427 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #3,876 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #2,551 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1928 | #4,544 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,607 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1926 | #4,050 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #3,068 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1924 | #3,734 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #3,166 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1921 | #4,770 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,755 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,098 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1914 | #2,578 | 8 | 0.0012% |
| 1913 | #2,044 | 9 | 0.0018% |
| 1912 | #2,464 | 6 | 0.0014% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Mordecai Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Mordecai's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mordecai's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.