Israel
Masculine · Hebrew roots
Israel is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 71,237 boys against 1,637 girls since 1880. See Israel as a girl name
Israel is one of the oldest names still in everyday use — a name given in the Hebrew Bible at a river crossing, carried into Greek and Latin by translators, and spoken today in English, Spanish and Hebrew with barely a letter changed. In American classrooms it is usually a single Israel, familiar to everyone yet rarely doubled up. The three syllables have two settled tunes, one English and one Spanish, and both have been in use here for generations.
How old is the name Israel?
Israel was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Israel alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 65,000 people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Israel most popular?
Israel peaked in 2006, reaching #202 nationally. Today it ranks #315, 113 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yisra'el (Hebrew) to Israel
The story of Israel
The name appears in Genesis, where Jacob wrestles through the night at the ford of the Jabbok and is given the new name Israel; his descendants become the twelve tribes, and the name passes from a person to a people to a land. Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible wrote it Israēl, Latin kept it, and it reached English unaltered — one of the few biblical names that never needed reshaping. English Puritans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries took it up as a given name and carried it to New England. Spanish took it up too, and Israel has been steadily used across Spain and Latin America for a long time, which is a good part of why it is strongest in Texas, California and New York.
Meaningscholars disagree
"he strives with God" or "God contends"
The name joins a Hebrew root meaning to strive or contend with El, God. Genesis reads it as the human striving: Jacob is told he has struggled with God and with men and prevailed. Many Semitic scholars read the grammar the other way, with God as the one who contends or rules. Both readings are old and serious, and neither has pushed the other out.
How the name formed
- Yisra'elHebrew
- IsraēlGreek
- IsraelLatin
- IsraelEnglish, Spanish
Related forms: Yisrael · Israel · Yisroel · Isra'il · Israel · Izrail
Pronouncing Israel
IZ-ree-uhl
The common English pronunciation; IZ-ray-el is also heard. In Spanish it is ees-rrah-EL, with the stress on the last syllable. A household that uses both languages will hear both, and neither is a correction of the other.
Nicknames for Israel
High
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
- 20071,937 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #202reached in 2006
- Change vs 2022
- −28.4%1,081 in 2025, from 1,509
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 — transliteration
- Israel in Spanish — same name
- Yisroel in Yiddish — transliteration
- Isra'il in Arabic — related form
- Israel in Portuguese — same name
- Izrail in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Israels among us
people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,580 born in 2025 was named Israel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Buddy 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: Buddy climbed just as high around 1935, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Buddy'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 should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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 boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled one way everywhere — no one has to ask which version, and it looks the same in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Present in American records for as long as such records have been kept, without a break.
- Has real short forms already in use: Izzy in English, Isra in Spanish.
- Recognizable across Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, all of which know the name from scripture.
- Israel is also the name of a modern country, and a politically charged one. That association follows the name in the news and in conversation, and it is worth deciding in advance how you feel about answering questions about it.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations are genuinely different, and a child may spend some time deciding which one they use with whom — or simply answering to both.
- Izzy is shared with several other names, so the nickname will not identify him the way the full name does.
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
Masculine · Hebrew roots · #315 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 65,000 people named Israel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Israel in 2025?
- Israel ranks #315 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,081 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Israel?
- About 1 in every 1,580 US boys born in 2025 was named Israel — 1,081 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.
Blake#316 · Sullivan#314 · Eliam#313 · Zyaire#317 · Cody#318 · Mathias#312 · Dakota#319 · Colson#310
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.
Or jump into a head-to-head
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
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