Ishan
Masculine · “lord”
Ishan is a ruler in Sanskrit — ishana, the lord — and it is one of the names of Shiva and the guardian of the north-east direction.
How old is the name Ishan?
Ishan first appears in US birth records in 1982 — 43 years ago. The typical Ishan alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 2,700 people named Ishan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ishan most popular?
Ishan peaked in 2009, reaching #1214 nationally. Today it ranks #1867, 653 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ishana to Ishan
The story of Ishan
The dikpalas guard the eight directions, and Ishana holds the north-east; the Ishana corner of a temple is where the shrine to Shiva often sits. The word is also used for the sun. Ishan is common across northern India. Indian emigration brought it to America, where it appears in the registers and is in current use.
Meaning
lord, ruler; the sun
From the Sanskrit ishana, 'ruler' or 'lord', from a root meaning to own or command — the same root as ishvara. Ishana is an epithet of Shiva and the guardian of the north-eastern quarter in the system of directional deities. The Sanskrit is documented and undisputed.
How the name formed
- ishana
- Ishan
Related forms: ईशान · Ishana · Ishan
Pronouncing Ishan
EE-shahn
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hindi gives both vowels a full value.
Nicknames for Ishan
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
- 1982
- Most boys named
- 2009148 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1214reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%84 in 2025, from 70
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.
Ishan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- ईशान in Hindi — transliteration
- Ishana in Sanskrit — related form
- Ishan in Bengali — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Ishans among us
people named Ishan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,334 born in 2025 was named Ishan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Ishan
- #1867
- Ishan on the 2025 chart
- #536
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Ishan went to 84 boys in 2025, but Ishaan, Izhaan and Izhan are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 445, which makes it the 536th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,331 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 3,838 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 20,334 for Ishan 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 Jaison test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ishan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jaison climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jaison's path sketches the road Ishan is walking now.
Ishan 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 Ishan is headed
Ishan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Ishan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ishan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The lord meaning is transparent, undisputed and unusually strong.
- An epithet of Shiva and a directional guardian both carry it.
- Ishu is a warm and widely used short form.
- The English 'ish' suffix is a coincidence of the clipping.
- It reads as specifically Indian.
- Ethan and Ishan are close enough in sound to be misheard.
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What they receive
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Ishan
Masculine · #1867 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ishans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Ishan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Ishan?
- Ishan is one of 4 recorded spellings. Ishaan is the more common one — 266 births in 2025 against 84 for Ishan.
- How popular is the name Ishan in 2025?
- Ishan ranks #1867 among US boy names in 2025, with 84 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ishan?
- About 1 in every 20,334 US boys born in 2025 was named Ishan — 84 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ishan with classmates?
- Ishan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ishan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Bryar#1867 · Coby#1867 · Jakhari#1867 · Fidel#1867 · Kasper#1867 · Klay#1867 · Brighton#1867 · Armon#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ishan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ishan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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