Issa
Masculine · “the Lord is salvation”
Issa is given to both — 2,288 boys and 929 girls since 1880. See Issa as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Issa is the Arabic name of Jesus — the form the Quran uses, which is a different route from the Hebrew Yeshua than the Greek and Latin took.
How old is the name Issa?
Issa first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Issa alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 2,200 people named Issa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Issa most popular?
Issa peaked in 2024, reaching #1530 nationally. Today it ranks #1677, 147 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Issa appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Yeshua to Issa
The story of Issa
Isa ibn Maryam is a prophet in the Quran, born of a virgin and named twenty-five times in the text. The name is used across the Muslim world, and Swahili-speaking Africa uses Issa. Both routes brought it to America, where it appears in the registers for both sexes and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
the Lord is salvation
Through the Arabic Isa, the Quranic name of Jesus, from the Hebrew Yeshua — yasha, 'to save', and a form of the divine name. The route from Yeshua to Isa rather than to Yasu is debated and may run through Syriac. A separate Swahili Issa is the same name; and a Japanese Issa means 'one tea'.
How the name formed
- Yeshua
- Isa
- Issa
Related forms: عيسى · Isa · Issa
Pronouncing Issa
EE-suh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Arabic begins it with an ayn, a throat sound English does not have.
Nicknames for Issa
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
- 1969
- Most boys named
- 2024115 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1530reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −14.8%98 in 2025, from 115
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.
Issa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- عيسى in Arabic — transliteration
- Isa in English — spelling variant
- Issa in Swahili — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Michigan. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Issas among us
people named Issa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,429 born in 2025 was named Issa
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 Braydin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Issa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Braydin climbed just as high around 2009, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Braydin's path sketches the road Issa is walking now.
Issa 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 Issa is headed
Issa looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 19% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Issa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Issa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is the Quranic name of a figure central to two world religions.
- It is genuine in Arabic and Swahili alike, which gives it real reach.
- Four letters, two syllables, and never misheard.
- The route from the Hebrew is genuinely debated among scholars.
- It is thoroughly unisex in American records.
- The initial Arabic consonant has no English equivalent.
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What they receive
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Issa
Masculine · #1677 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Issas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Issa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Issa in 2025?
- Issa ranks #1677 among US boy names in 2025, with 98 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Issa?
- About 1 in every 17,429 US boys born in 2025 was named Issa — 98 in all.
- Will my child share the name Issa with classmates?
- Issa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Issa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ellison#1677 · Lando#1677 · Mayson#1677 · Conan#1677 · Kyce#1677 · Gibson#1677 · Kyng#1677 · Reagan#1677
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Issa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Issa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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