Isay
A feminine name of Scottish origin indicating "strong-willed" or "vigorous".
Name Census estimates that about 83 living Americans carry the first name Isay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Isay today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isay births was 2005 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isay. 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 Isay. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
83
~ 1 in 4,129,570 Americans
Peak year
2005
11 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2015 SSA rank
#9,963
Tracked since 2002
Census
Isay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 210 people with the first name Isay, which placed it at #37,260 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
#37,260
National first-name rank
People counted
210
210 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isay is Hispanic at 63.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Isay 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 Isay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.8% · 134
- White28.6% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 7
- Black or African American2.9% · 6
- Two or more races1.4% · 3
Popularity
Isay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isay from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 55 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Isay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isay 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 Isay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isay
The name Isay has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Yishai, which means "gift" or "present." The name Yishai is found in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to the father of King David.
In the Old Testament, Yishai is mentioned as a resident of Bethlehem and a member of the tribe of Judah. He is described as a humble shepherd who was chosen by God to become the father of the future king of Israel. The name Yishai is also associated with the messianic prophecies in the Book of Isaiah, where the Messiah is referred to as a descendant of the root of Yishai.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Isay can be found in various historical records and documents from the Middle Ages. One notable figure bearing this name was Isay ben Judah, a renowned Jewish philosopher and scholar who lived in the 11th century. He was born in Fez, Morocco, and made significant contributions to the study of Jewish law and ethics.
Another historical figure named Isay was Isay ben Rabi, a prominent Jewish physician who lived in the 13th century. He was born in Arles, France, and was known for his expertise in medicine and his writings on medical topics.
In the 16th century, Isay ben Abraham Bekor Shor was a distinguished Jewish scholar and rabbi from Poland. He authored several works on Jewish law and was highly respected for his knowledge and leadership within the Jewish community.
During the 18th century, Isay ben Judah Loeb was a prominent Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Ukraine. He was known for his expertise in mystical teachings and his contributions to the study of the Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Isay Weinfeld was a notable Brazilian architect born in 1952. He is renowned for his contemporary and minimalist designs, and his work has received numerous awards and recognition.
While the name Isay has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions throughout history. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, particularly in modern times.
People
Isay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isay 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
Isay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isay 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 4,129,570 US residents.
Is Isay a common name?
We classify Isay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 84 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isay most popular?
The single biggest year for Isay was 2005, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isay is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 210 people with the name Isay, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,260 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 Isay 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 Isay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isay leans strongly male. 194 people counted with this name were male (92.4%), compared with 16 female bearers (7.6%). 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 Isay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isay is Hispanic at 63.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Isay most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Isay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.8% (134 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 Isay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isay 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 Isay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isay 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 Isay 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 named Isay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.