Israel
Feminine · “he strives with God”
Israel is given to boys far more often — 71,237 boys against 1,637 girls since 1880. See Israel as a boy name
Israel is the name God gives Jacob after a night of wrestling, and the text says what it means: he strives with God. It is used for girls in small numbers in American records.
How old is the name Israel?
Israel first appears in US birth records in 1951 — 74 years ago. The typical Israel alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 1,600 people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Israel most popular?
Israel peaked in 2018, reaching #2508 nationally. Today it ranks #3577, 1,069 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yisrael to Israel
The story of Israel
Jacob wrestles a stranger until daybreak and is renamed Israel, and the twelve tribes descended from him carry the name. It became the name of a people, a kingdom and, in the twentieth century, a state. As a personal name it has been in Jewish use continuously and in Christian use since the Reformation; Spanish-speaking families use it in real numbers, and it is given to girls as well as boys in American records.
Meaning
he strives with God
From Hebrew Yisrael, joining a verb generally read as to struggle or contend with the element meaning God; Genesis gives the explanation directly in the account of Jacob's night at the ford.
How the name formed
- Yisrael
- Israel
Related forms: Yisrael · Israel · Israil
Pronouncing Israel
IZ-ree-el
Three syllables, first stressed, in English. Hebrew gives yis-ra-EL, with the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Israel
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
- 1951
- Most girls named
- 201870 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2508reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- +7.7%42 in 2025, from 39
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.
Israel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yisrael in Hebrew — same name
- Israel in Spanish — same name
- Israil in Arabic — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina.
Israels among us
people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 38,268 born in 2025 was named Israel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Israel
- #3577
- Israel on the 2025 chart
- #913
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Israel went to 42 girls in 2025, but Izrael is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 47, which makes it the 913th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,664 places above the chart.
- Israel42
- Izrael5
About 1 girl in 34,197 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 38,268 for Israel 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 Sonali test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Israel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sonali climbed just as high around 2000, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sonali's path sketches the road Israel is walking now.
Israel 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 Israel is headed
Israel is easing off slowly — about 17% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Israel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Israel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning explained in the text itself, which very few names can claim.
- A documented record measured in thousands of years.
- Izzy is a plain short form that works at any age.
- The name is a modern state as well as a person, and it carries political weight that will follow her.
- It is read as a boy's name by default, and she will correct that often.
- The stress differs entirely between the Hebrew and English readings.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Israel to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Israel? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Israel
Feminine · #3577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Israels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Israel?
- Israel is the most-used spelling in US records — 42 of the 47 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Izrael.
- How popular is the name Israel in 2025?
- Israel ranks #3577 among US girl names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Israel?
- About 1 in every 38,268 US girls born in 2025 was named Israel — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Israel with classmates?
- Israel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Israel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Delphine#3577 · Evelyne#3577 · Ellanor#3577 · Gwenevere#3577 · Lian#3577 · Katya#3577 · Kolby#3577 · Cherry#3577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Israel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Israel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle