Ish
A masculine Hindi name meaning "Lord" or "God".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Ish. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ish today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ish births was 2006 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ish. 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 Ish. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2006
6 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,176
Tracked since 2006
Census
Ish in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 277 people with the first name Ish, which placed it at #31,090 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
#31,090
National first-name rank
People counted
277
277 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
50.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ish
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 50.9%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Ish 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 Ish at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander50.9% · 141
- White16.2% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino16.2% · 45
- Black or African American13.4% · 37
- Two or more races2.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Ish: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ish 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 Ish during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ish
The name Ish has its origins in ancient Sumerian and Akkadian languages, dating back to the third millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian word "ishu," which means "man" or "person." In Akkadian, the word "ishu" also carried a similar meaning, referring to a human being or an individual.
In ancient Mesopotamian cultures, the name Ish was likely used as a personal name, indicating a masculine identity or simply referring to a person or individual. It was a simple yet profound name that encapsulated the essence of human existence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ish can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem that dates back to around 2100 BCE. In this epic, Ish appears as a minor character, a servant or follower of the legendary hero Gilgamesh.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ish. One of the most famous was Ish-bosheth, a son of King Saul and a claimant to the throne of the United Kingdom of Israel in the 11th century BCE. He reigned as king over a portion of Israel for a brief period before being assassinated.
Another prominent figure was Ish-Kishor, a military commander who served under King David of Israel in the 10th century BCE. He is mentioned in the biblical Book of Samuel for his bravery and loyalty to the king.
In the 9th century BCE, Ish-Baal was a Phoenician king who ruled over the city-state of Tyre. He is mentioned in ancient Assyrian records and is credited with expanding Tyre's maritime trade and influence in the region.
In the 7th century BCE, Ish-Shar was a Babylonian priest and scribe who is known for his contributions to the study of astronomy and astrology. He is believed to have authored several cuneiform tablets documenting celestial observations and calculations.
Ish-Milku was a Phoenician king who ruled over the city of Byblos in the 5th century BCE. He is mentioned in ancient Greek historical accounts and is known for his diplomatic relations with the Athenian statesman Pericles.
While the name Ish may have fallen out of common usage in modern times, its ancient roots and historical significance remain a testament to the enduring legacy of Mesopotamian and Semitic cultures.
People
Ish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ish 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
Ish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ish 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Ish a common name?
We classify Ish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ish most popular?
The single biggest year for Ish was 2006, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ish is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ish in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 277 people with the name Ish, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,090 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 Ish 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 Ish?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ish leans strongly male. 235 people counted with this name were male (85.1%), compared with 41 female bearers (14.9%). 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 Ish?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 50.9%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Ish most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.9% (141 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 Ish in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ish a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ish 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 Ish still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ish 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 Ish 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 share the name Ish?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.