Boy · #273 in 2026

Israel

Israel is a masculine Hebrew name.

  • Jewish
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Biblical
Current Rank
#273
Peak Rank
#202 (2007)
Total Babies
73K
5-Yr Trend
-14%
1951
First Year
2026
Last Year
2018
Peak Year
#2508
Peak Rank
2K
Total Count
54
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Israel

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Israel is a masculine Hebrew name.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Jewish
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Biblical
  • Biblical Greek
Etymology
In Hebrew, the name Israel comes from sara ( Hebrew : שָׂרָה , lit. ' to struggle [with] ' ) and el ( Hebrew : אֵל , lit. ' God ' ). After Jacob wrestles with the angel in the Book of Genesis , the Angel of the Lord tells him that his name is now Israel, because he has "struggled with God and man and prevailed" ( Genesis 32:28, 35:10 ). The Hebrew verb sarita , used in the passage, has also been translated into English as "striven," "wrestled," and "contended." The general consensus is the name is a reference to the Jewish people 's ongoing struggle with God and the obligation they have to exp
Origin & history
The given name is attested during the Bronze Age in Eblaite ( 𒅖𒊏𒅋 , Išrail ) and Ugaritic ( 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 , Yšrʾil ) languages. Ysrỉꜣr ( Ancient Egyptian : 𓇌𓊃𓏤𓏤𓂋𓇋𓄿𓂋𓏤 ) appears c. 1208 BCE on the Merneptah Stele of Egypt, where it refers to a foreign people, likely the Israelites . The word Israel has a strong association with Judaism . In the Book of Genesis, after God renames the patriarch Jacob as Israel, his twelve sons become the heads of the Twelve Tribes of Israel . The Land of Israel ( Hebrew : ארץ ישראל , romanized : Eretz Yisrael ) is mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible as

The Story of Israel

Israel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 17 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2007, when 1,936 Israels were born — ranking #204 that year. As of 2026, Israel ranks #273 for baby boys with 1,257 births, gradually falling (-14%). In total, more than 73K Israels have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Israel

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Israel. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Israel

Phonetically similar names — useful when Israel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Israel

What does the name Israel mean?
Israel is a masculine Hebrew name.
What is the origin of the name Israel?
Israel has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek.
How popular is Israel in 2026?
In 2026, Israel ranks #273 among boys' names in the U.S., with 1,257 babies given the name that year.
When was Israel most popular?
Israel reached its peak popularity in 2007, ranking #202 that year with 1,936 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Israel most popular?
Israel has historically been most popular in Hawaii, New Mexico, Arizona. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Israel.
Is Israel a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Israel is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Israel?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Israel include Buddy, Laurence, Corbin. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Israel?
Common variants and related forms of Israel include Isi, Issy, Izzy. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

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About the name Israel

Israel is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 73K births in the dataset. Israel's peak popularity came in 2007 when it ranked #202. Use the chart and map above to compare Israel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.