Israel
Boy nameIsrael has been given to 72,874 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 2007 and currently ranks #315 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/
From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in Genesis 32:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from t
Origin: Hebrew
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
72,874
Peak year
2007 (1,995 babies)
Rank in 2025
#315 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -32%
Gender split
2% girls / 98% boys
Famous people named Israel
Irving Berlin
American composer and lyricist (1888–1989)
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Hawaiian singer (1959–1997)
Baal Shem Tov
Polish founder of Hasidic Judaism (1698–1760)
Israel Katz
Minister of Defense of Israel (born 1955)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Israel.
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