Isak
Masculine · “he laughs”
Isak is how Scandinavia writes Isaac: the same biblical name with the softer c traded for a k. It has been a steady presence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for centuries and comes into American records looking both foreign and instantly readable.
How old is the name Isak?
Isak first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Isak alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 1,100 people named Isak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Isak most popular?
Isak peaked in 2004, reaching #2075 nationally. Today it ranks #3128, 1,053 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yitzhak to Isak
The story of Isak
Hebrew Yitzhak passed into Greek as Isaak, into Latin as Isaac, and from there into every Christian language of Europe. The northern languages kept the Greek k rather than the Latin c, so Sweden, Norway and Denmark write Isak while England writes Isaac. Both spellings arrived in America with immigration and both are still in the records, the k form more often in families with a Nordic or German connection.
Meaning
he laughs
In Genesis the name is tied to laughter twice — Abraham's and Sarah's — when a child is promised to them in old age.
How the name formed
- Yitzhak
- Isaak
- Isak
Related forms: Isaac · Yitzhak · Ishaq · Isaak
Pronouncing Isak
EE-sahk
In Scandinavian the first syllable is stressed and long. Americans usually read it as Isaac, EYE-zik.
Nicknames for Isak
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1979
- Most boys named
- 200457 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2075reached in 2004
- Change vs 2024
- +46.2%38 in 2025, from 26
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Isak in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Isaac in English — same name
- Yitzhak in Hebrew — same name
- Ishaq in Arabic — same name
- Isaak in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Isaks among us
people named Isak are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 44,949 born in 2025 was named Isak
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Isak
- #3128
- Isak on the 2025 chart
- #47
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Isak went to 38 boys in 2025, but Isaac, Isaak and Izaac and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 11 spellings went to 6,198, which makes it the 47th most-given boys’ name of the year — 3,081 places above the chart.
and 6 rarer spellings.
About 1 boy in 276 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 44,949 for Isak itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sterlin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Isak's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sterlin climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sterlin's path sketches the road Isak is walking now.
Isak sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Isak is headed
Isak should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Isak beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Isak in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A biblical name with a documented meaning and a record going back millennia.
- The Isaac spelling is familiar everywhere, so the name is never truly unknown.
- Short, two syllables, and it ends on a hard consonant that cuts through noise.
- Americans will read it as Isaac and spell it that way unless corrected each time.
- The Scandinavian EE-sahk and the English EYE-zik are far enough apart that your child will answer to two names.
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What they receive
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Isak
Masculine · #3128 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Isaks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Isak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Isak?
- Isak is one of 5 recorded spellings. Isaac is the more common one — 5,953 births in 2025 against 38 for Isak.
- How popular is the name Isak in 2025?
- Isak ranks #3128 among US boy names in 2025, with 38 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Isak?
- About 1 in every 44,949 US boys born in 2025 was named Isak — 38 in all.
- Will my child share the name Isak with classmates?
- Isak will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Isak
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hamilton#3128 · Juanpablo#3128 · Courtney#3128 · Baxter#3128 · Javen#3128 · Hal#3128 · Dawud#3128 · Tavion#3128
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Isak? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Isak and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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