Isham
Masculine · “Homestead on the river Ise”
Isham is an English place-name surname, from a village on the river Ise, and it was an old Virginia first name before it was a jazz-age one. Thomas Jefferson's grandfather carried it, and so did the bandleader who wrote 'It Had to Be You'.
How old is the name Isham?
Isham was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Isham alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 100 people named Isham are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Isham most popular?
Isham peaked in 1880, reaching #505 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ise + ham to Isham
The story of Isham
Isham Randolph, a Virginia planter and sea captain who had lived in London, was the father of Jane Randolph and so the grandfather of Thomas Jefferson; through the Randolphs the name spread among Virginia families. Isham Jones, a bandleader from Ohio who grew up in the Michigan coal country, wrote the music of 'It Had to Be You' and 'I'll See You in My Dreams' in the 1920s, and his orchestra was one of the best-selling dance bands of the decade. Isham was already an established first name when federal records began.
Meaning
Homestead on the river Ise
From the Northamptonshire village of Isham, from the river name Ise and Old English ham, 'homestead'.
How the name formed
- Ise + ham
- Isham
Pronouncing Isham
EYE-shum
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Isham
Limited
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192227 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #505reached in 1880
- Change vs 2007
- +20.0%6 in 2022, from 5
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.
Ishams among us
people named Isham are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Isham sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A real English place name with a clear meaning.
- Deep roots in old Virginia families.
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- People may read it as ISH-am or confuse it with Isaiah.
- It reads as a nineteenth-century name.
- It will need spelling and pronouncing.
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Isham
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ishams are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Isham are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Isham in 2025?
- Isham is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Isham with classmates?
- Isham will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More I names
The most-given names starting with I, all years combined.
Isaac#47 · Ian#83 · Isaiah#57 · Ivan#162 · Israel#315 · Ira#819 · Irving#1778 · Ismael#263
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Isham? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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