Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Isaac

Say it EYE-zik 2 syllables

Hebrew · “he laughs, he will laugh”

Common across France, the UK, three Canadian provinces, and 8 more places. Rare in Italy, Poland, Israel, and 12 more places.

1 in 204 boys born in England and Wales in 2025. Number 36 there.

Isaac in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 15, rare in 15.
Isaac in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales36 (down)20251,3311 in 204212020
Scotland56 (up)2025771 in 255632020
Northern Ireland31 (down)2025551 in 151202020
Ireland104 (down)2025541 in 439812020
North America
Ontario (province)31 (up)2024257about 1 in 233382019
Quebec (province)55 (down)2025116about 1 in 250542020
British Columbia (province)24 (up)202372about 1 in 181332018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)26 (down)2025199232020
Victoria (state)19 (up)2025223202020
Queensland (state)97 (down)202563572020
South Australia (state)27 (up)202546322020
New Zealand44 (up)202575512020
Western Europe
France11 (up)20252,7151 in 111252020
Netherlands327 (up)202548about 1 in 1,3863812020
Central Europe
Austria412 (up)2025121 in 3,1726022020
Switzerland50 (up)20251121 in 3211102020
Berlin (city)418 (up)20237about 1 in 2,2168342018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)659 (up)20231about 1 in 6,3789802018
Bonn (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
Norway246 (up)2025161 in 1,4553102020
Sweden272 (down)202531about 1 in 1,3912172020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
Spain71 (up)2024430932019
Catalonia (region)40 (up)2025981 in 211732020
Italy312 (new in the list)2024411 in 4,618Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland705 (new in the list)202521 in 63,202Not listed2020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Son of Abraham and Sarah, the biblical patriarch Isaac gave this name its story. It comes from the Hebrew Yiṣḥāq, 'he laughs, he will laugh', and Genesis explains it by Sarah's laughter when she was told she would have a son in her old age.

2 more paragraphs

It has two syllables, EYE-zik, and a gentle, even sound. Related forms include Isak, Izak, Ishak, Yitzhak and Isacco.

Isaac ranks well in France and Victoria and holds a place in the lists for British Columbia and New South Wales. It also appears in the Catalan and Swiss lists. In French records it is at its highest point right now, with most of its bearers born very recently, and it is rising in more places than it is falling, so it is a biblical classic enjoying a strong present.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
EYE-zik · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“he laughs, he will laugh”
Origin
Hebrew
Related names
Izak, Isak, Ishak, Yitzhak, Ysaac, Iiro, Iisakki, Issac, Isacco, Izsák, Izaak, Ike, Itzhak, Izaac, Isac, Isaach
Where Isaac comes from (Wiktionary)

From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”). Explained in Genesis as referring to his mother Sarah’s laughing when she was told she would have a son at her old age. The verb is masculine, however, perhaps due to its use as a boy’s name.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Isaac. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Isaac over time

Rising in 7 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 5. Peak in France: 2025.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Isaac in England and Wales: #104 in 1996, a peak of #20 in 2015, and #36 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #104, 480 boys1997: #102, 529 boys1998: #84, 666 boys1999: #79, 710 boys2000: #66, 798 boys2001: #75, 793 boys2002: #63, 931 boys2003: #64, 942 boys2004: #58, 1,104 boys2005: #53, 1,302 boys2006: #55, 1,333 boys2007: #42, 1,762 boys2008: #39, 1,948 boys2009: #41, 1,979 boys2010: #37, 2,115 boys2011: #33, 2,352 boys2012: #30, 2,682 boys2013: #29, 2,569 boys2014: #25, 2,636 boys2015: #20, 2,829 boys2016: #20, 2,662 boys2017: #24, 2,432 boys2018: #20, 2,578 boys2019: #23, 2,331 boys2020: #21, 2,074 boys2021: #25, 1,888 boys2022: #26, 1,733 boys2023: #27, 1,611 boys2024: #37, 1,360 boys2025: #36, 1,331 boys#104 in 1996peak #20, 2015#36in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996104480
1997102529
199884666
199979710
200066798
200175793
200263931
200364942
2004581,104
2005531,302
2006551,333
2007421,762
2008391,948
2009411,979
2010372,115
2011332,352
2012302,682
2013292,569
2014252,636
2015202,829
2016202,662
2017242,432
2018202,578
2019232,331
2020212,074
2021251,888
2022261,733
2023271,611
2024371,360
2025361,331

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Isaac in France since 1925 were born in or after 2020. Peak: 2025, about 897 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 8.6 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 8 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 4.6 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 1.9 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 1.2 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 1.4 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 0.9 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 2.7 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 3.1 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 4 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 4.4 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 5.7 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 8.3 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 12.9 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 29.1 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 48 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 90.1 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 171.4 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 349.4 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 715.4 per 100,000 boys20202025: 897 per 100,000 boys20252025: about 1 in 111 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19298.6
1930–19348
1935–19394.6
1940–19441.9
1945–19491.2
1950–19541.4
1955–19590.9
1960–19642.7
1965–19693.1
1970–19744
1975–19794.4
1980–19845.7
1985–19898.3
1990–199412.9
1995–199929.1
2000–200448
2005–200990.1
2010–2014171.4
2015–2019349.4
2020–2024715.4
2025897

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Isaac

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Isaac, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 202, Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 289, Ireland

  3. 1 in 164, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 153, Northern Ireland

  5. 1 in 255, Scotland

  6. 1 in 319, Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 162, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

  9. 1 in 354, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 290, England and Wales

All 40 brother names for Isaac

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Isaac's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 50, Ireland

  3. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 130, Scotland

  6. 1 in 62, Poland

  7. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 137, Scotland

Full-name check

Isaac Oliver

Syllables 2-3Initials I.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Isaac

Sisters for Isaac: Zara, Maya, Abigail, and 5 more
  1. ZaraRose and fell with Isaac · Same generation as Isaac
  2. MayaRose and fell with Isaac · Same generation as Isaac
  3. AbigailRose and fell with Isaac · Hebrew, like Isaac
  4. IsabellaRose and fell with Isaac · Hebrew, like Isaac · Same initial as Isaac
  5. EdenRose and fell with Isaac · Same generation as Isaac
  6. HannahRose and fell with Isaac · As common as Isaac
  7. AvaRose and fell with Isaac · Hebrew, like Isaac
  8. EvaRose and fell with Isaac · Hebrew, like Isaac

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Isaac

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Isaac's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Common across France, the UK, Italy, and 9 more places.

  2. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  5. Common across France, England and Wales, three Canadian provinces, and 8 more places.

  6. Common in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and 14 more places.

  7. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 16 more places.

  8. Common across France, the UK, three Nordic countries, and 11 more places.

Famous people named Isaac

Isaac Newton, Isaac Asimov, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Isaac

How popular is Isaac in Victoria?

Isaac ranked #19 in Victoria in 2025, given to 223 boys.

Is Isaac rising in popularity?

In some places: it is rising in more of them than it is falling. Rising in 7 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 5. Rising in: Berlin, Austria, France, Switzerland, Norway, and 2 other regions.

What does Isaac mean?

Isaac means “he laughs, he will laugh”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Isaac have?

Isaac has 2 syllables: EYE-zik.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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