Head to head · Boys' names
Ismael vs Paul
#263 vs #262 in 2025
Paul is a whisker ahead (#262 vs #263 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Paul is holding its place on the charts, Ismael is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Ismael has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Paul leads 5 measures of 6; Ismael leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Ismael —, Paul #45 — Paul higher
- 1890s: Ismael —, Paul #24 — Paul higher
- 1900s: Ismael #1130, Paul #19 — Paul higher
- 1910s: Ismael #1975, Paul #14 — Paul higher
- 1920s: Ismael #1208, Paul #14 — Paul higher
- 1930s: Ismael #842, Paul #14 — Paul higher
- 1940s: Ismael #753, Paul #18 — Paul higher
- 1950s: Ismael #567, Paul #17 — Paul higher
- 1960s: Ismael #523, Paul #18 — Paul higher
- 1970s: Ismael #443, Paul #28 — Paul higher
- 1980s: Ismael #413, Paul #41 — Paul higher
- 1990s: Ismael #365, Paul #69 — Paul higher
- 2000s: Ismael #336, Paul #130 — Paul higher
- 2010s: Ismael #383, Paul #206 — Paul higher
- 2020s: Ismael #292, Paul #259 — Paul higher
Paul stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ismael | Paul |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #45 |
| 1890s | — | #24 |
| 1900s | #1130 | #19 |
| 1910s | #1975 | #14 |
| 1920s | #1208 | #14 |
| 1930s | #842 | #14 |
| 1940s | #753 | #18 |
| 1950s | #567 | #17 |
| 1960s | #523 | #18 |
| 1970s | #443 | #28 |
| 1980s | #413 | #41 |
| 1990s | #365 | #69 |
| 2000s | #336 | #130 |
| 2010s | #383 | #206 |
| 2020s | #292 | #259 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Ismael
Not charting outside the US.
Paul
- France#23
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ismael
God hears
From Hebrew Yishmaʿel, combining the verb shamaʿ, "to hear", with El, "God" — often given as "God will hear" or "God hearkens".
Yishmaʿel (Hebrew) → Ismaēl (Greek) → Ismael (Latin) → Ismael (Spanish, Portuguese, French)
How it traveled
The name begins in Hebrew as Yishmaʿel and appears in the book of Genesis as the son of Abraham and Hagar. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Ismaēl, dropping the sh sound, and Latin passed that form on to Spanish, Portuguese and French as Ismael — while English, translating from Hebrew directly, kept Ishmael.
Paul
small; slight
Latin paulus means little or slight, and Paullus was a Roman family name — the Aemilii Paulli were among the more distinguished of them. The derivation is not disputed. Roman names of this kind describe an ancestor rather than a bearer and stop describing anyone within a generation, so the meaning is real and has not applied to anybody in two thousand years.
paulus → Paulus → Paul
How it traveled
The apostle is usually said to have changed his name from Saul to Paul on conversion, and the text does not say that. He was a Roman citizen from Tarsus and, like a great many Jews under Roman rule, he had two names from the start — a Hebrew one for his own community and a Latin one for the wider world.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Ismael
ees-mah-EL
That is the Spanish pronunciation, with the stress on the last syllable. English speakers often say IZ-may-el or IZ-mee-el, closer to the Ishmael spelling. Both are heard in the US, and families usually pick one and gently correct the other.
- Isma — The standard informal short form among Spanish speakers, used by family and friends rather than in writing.
- Ish — An English-language clipping, mostly from classmates and teammates.
- Izzy — Used in English-speaking settings; also stands alone as a nickname for Isaac, Isaiah and Isabel.
- Mael — Occasional, taken from the end of the name; Maël exists separately as a French given name.
Paul
PAWL
PAWL, one syllable, rhyming with hall. French says the same single syllable with a rounder vowel. Spanish and Italian rebuild the name around their own sounds and give it two, PAH-blo and PAH-oh-lo, which are recognizably the same name and not obviously so.
- Pauly — The name softened, which belongs to childhood and to affection rather than to work.
- Paulie — The same with the other ending, and strongly associated with Italian-American use.
- Pablo — The Spanish form used as a nickname, which happens in bilingual households and occasionally outside them.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ismael if you want…
- a name on the way upup 87 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itIsmael runs 2 syllables, Paul 1
- a newer arrivalIsmael entered the US charts in 1903
- a name that feels very nowIsmael is climbing the charts fast
Choose Paul if you want…
- a name holding steadyPaul is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesPaul is 1 syllable to Ismael's 2
- a name that charts abroad tooPaul is on the national lists of France
- a long American recordPaul was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Ismael
Strengths
- Works unchanged in Spanish, Portuguese and French, with close relatives in Arabic, Turkish and Persian — a name that crosses borders without needing a new spelling.
- A documented record stretching from ancient Hebrew scripture to this year's kindergartens, and an unbroken run on US records for more than a century.
- Has a ready-made everyday short form, Isma, already in wide use among Spanish speakers.
To consider
- Three spellings of the same name circulate in the US — Ismael, Ismail and Ishmael — so expect to spell it out often, and to have mail arrive in the wrong version.
- The pronunciation splits along language lines: ees-mah-EL in Spanish, IZ-may-el in English. Worth deciding early which one you will ask teachers and doctors to use, because both are defensible.
- In English, the name carries an echo of Melville's narrator and of the biblical figure sent away from his father's household — a rich association for some readers, a melancholy one for others.
Paul
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, and understood instantly in every European language.
- It has been in continuous English use for many centuries without belonging to any one period.
- The meaning is plain and modest, which very few names of this weight manage.
To consider
- It is unmistakably Christian in origin and specifically apostolic, which for some families is the point and for others is a history they are not part of.
- A great many people already carry it, so a Paul will rarely be the only one in a workplace.
- A single syllable against a single-syllable surname lands abruptly, and the name gives nothing to soften it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Ismael
51%chance Ismael feels dated by 2040
Ismael is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Paul
12%chance Paul feels dated by 2040
Paul has held the top-100 across 12 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Ismael and Paul in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -ell / -el
- The steadiest names in America
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- all guides
Where Ismael and Paul each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ismael or Paul — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ismael or Paul?
- Paul, in 2025: Paul ranked #262 with 1,316 babies; Ismael ranked #263 with 1,307 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ismael or Paul?
- Ismael. Over the last five years Ismael moved up 87 places; Paul moved down 10 places.
- Which is the older name, Ismael or Paul?
- Ismael entered the US charts in 1903; Paul was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Paul is the older name.
- How many people are named Ismael and Paul?
- About 41,000 people named Ismael are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 836,000 people named Paul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ismaels or Pauls in the classroom?
- Ismael will almost certainly be the only one in school. Paul will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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