Irael
Hebrew name meaning "fighter for God" or "strong one of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Irael. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Irael today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irael births was 2012 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irael. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Irael. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2012
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,980
Tracked since 2012
Census
Irael in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Irael, which placed it at #41,537 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irael
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irael is Hispanic at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Black (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Irael described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Irael at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.5% · 161
- White4.5% · 8
- Black or African American4.0% · 7
Popularity
Irael: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Irael by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Irael during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Irael
The given name Irael is an uncommon variation of the Hebrew name Israel, which means "he struggles with God" or "one who has wrestled with God." This name has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language and is deeply rooted in the Abrahamic religious traditions.
The name Irael is believed to have originated during the biblical era, as it is mentioned in various ancient texts and religious scriptures. In the Book of Genesis, the patriarch Jacob is given the name Israel after he wrestles with an angel of God. This encounter is seen as a symbolic representation of Jacob's spiritual struggle and his ultimate submission to the divine.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Irael can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to the 3rd century BCE. These ancient manuscripts, discovered in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea, contain references to individuals bearing the name Irael, suggesting its usage among the Essene community during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Irael. One such individual was Irael ben Elisha, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE in present-day Iraq. He was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and ethics.
Another prominent figure was Irael Sagan, a Russian-born American astronomer and astrophysicist who lived from 1934 to 1996. He was renowned for his research on planetary atmospheres and his efforts to popularize science through his writings and television appearances.
In the field of literature, Irael Zangwill was a British writer and political activist who lived from 1864 to 1926. He is best known for his novels and plays that explored themes of Jewish identity and the challenges faced by immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Additionally, Irael Kaplan was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi and scholar who lived from 1888 to 1983. He was influential in the development of the Reconstructionist movement within Judaism and authored several works on Jewish philosophy and theology.
Lastly, Irael Broussard was a French-Canadian musician and singer-songwriter who lived from 1936 to 2018. He was a prominent figure in the Cajun music scene and was celebrated for his contributions to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Louisiana's Acadiana region.
People
Irael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Irael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irael going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Irael a common name?
We classify Irael as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irael most popular?
The single biggest year for Irael was 2012, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irael is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Irael in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Irael, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Irael in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Irael?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Irael leans strongly male. 171 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 10 female bearers (5.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Irael?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irael is Hispanic at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Black (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Irael most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Irael in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (161 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Irael in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Irael a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irael in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Irael still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Irael in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Irael can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Irael?
You can see how many people have the name Irael on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.