Yeshaya
Masculine · “the Lord is salvation”
Yeshaya is Isaiah as Hebrew and Yiddish say it, and the name states a whole doctrine in two words: the Lord is salvation. The book that carries it argues that point for sixty-six chapters.
How old is the name Yeshaya?
Yeshaya first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Yeshaya alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 800 people named Yeshaya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Yeshaya most popular?
Yeshaya peaked in 2024, reaching #2873 nationally. Today it ranks #2941, 68 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yeshayahu to Yeshaya
The story of Yeshaya
Isaiah is the first of the major prophets and the book is the most-quoted of them in the New Testament; whether one man or several wrote it has been argued for two centuries. The name stayed in continuous Jewish use, shortened in Ashkenazi speech to Yeshaya and Shaya. English took Isaiah through Greek and Latin and it became a common name in Protestant and, later, African-American families. Yeshaya reaches United States records almost entirely through observant Ashkenazi communities.
Meaning
the Lord is salvation
Hebrew Yeshayahu joins a form of yasha, 'to save, to deliver', with Yahu, the divine name. The same yasha stands behind Joshua, Hosea, Elisha and Yeshua, which gives Jesus — a whole family of names about rescue. The reading is documented and undisputed. Yeshaya is the shortened form used in Yiddish and modern Hebrew alike.
How the name formed
- Yeshayahu
- Yeshaya
Related forms: Yeshayahu · Isaiah · Ishaya · Esaias
Pronouncing Yeshaya
yeh-SHY-ah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle in Yiddish. Israeli Hebrew says ye-sha-YA-hu with four and the stress near the end. English speakers meeting the spelling reach for Isaiah, which is the same name after Greek got to it.
Nicknames for Yeshaya
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
- 1976
- Most boys named
- 202444 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2873reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −4.5%42 in 2025, from 44
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.
Yeshaya in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yeshayahu in Hebrew — related form
- Isaiah in English — same name
- Ishaya in Arabic — same name
- Esaias in Greek — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: New Jersey, New York, California.
Yeshayas among us
people named Yeshaya are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 40,668 born in 2025 was named Yeshaya
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 Blythe test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Yeshaya's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Blythe climbed just as high around 1941, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Blythe's path sketches the road Yeshaya is walking now.
Yeshaya 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 Yeshaya is headed
Yeshaya 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.
Yeshaya beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Yeshaya in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A meaning that is a complete sentence, and a central one in the tradition it comes from.
- Shaya and Shay are both ready short forms, one traditional and one modern.
- Closer to the Hebrew than the English Isaiah, which is often the reason for choosing it.
- English speakers will write Isaiah, which is the same name in a different alphabet's clothing.
- Yeshaya, Yeshayahu and Shaya all circulate within the same communities.
- It is strongly identified with observant Ashkenazi families, which is either the point or something to weigh.
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What they receive
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Yeshaya
Masculine · #2941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Yeshayas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Yeshaya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Yeshaya in 2025?
- Yeshaya ranks #2941 among US boy names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Yeshaya?
- About 1 in every 40,668 US boys born in 2025 was named Yeshaya — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Yeshaya with classmates?
- Yeshaya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Yeshaya
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Prescott#2941 · Kwame#2941 · Michelangelo#2941 · Jahan#2941 · Kairi#2941 · Yonah#2941 · Nihal#2941 · Reyes#2941
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Yeshaya? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Yeshaya and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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