Ishaq
A masculine name of Semitic origin meaning "he will laugh".
Name Census estimates that about 655 living Americans carry the first name Ishaq. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ishaq today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ishaq births was 2023 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ishaq. 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.
People living today
655
~ 1 in 523,289 Americans
Peak year
2023
41 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,060
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Ishaq: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ishaq from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 295 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ishaq remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ishaq 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 Ishaq during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ishaqs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, Michigan, Texas recorded the most babies named Ishaq, while New Jersey, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ishaq
The name Ishaq is derived from the Arabic language and has its origins in the Middle East. It is a variant spelling of the name Isaac, which has its roots in the Hebrew language. The name Isaac is believed to have originated from the Hebrew word "yitshaq," meaning "he laughs" or "he will laugh."
Ishaq is a name with significant historical and religious significance. In the Abrahamic faiths, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Isaac (or Ishaq) is considered a prominent figure. In the Bible and the Quran, he is described as the son of the patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ishaq can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In the Quran, Ishaq is referred to as a prophet and a righteous servant of God. The Quran also mentions the name in the context of Abraham's progeny, stating that both Ishaq and his son Jacob (Yaqub) were blessed by God.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ishaq. One of the earliest recorded examples is Ishaq ibn Amran (d. 799 CE), an Iraqi mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and geometry.
Another prominent figure is Ishaq al-Mawsili (767-850 CE), an Arab musician and singer who is considered a pioneer in the development of Arab classical music. He was renowned for his knowledge of music theory and his ability to compose and perform.
In Islamic literature, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh (778-853 CE) was a renowned Islamic scholar and hadith collector. He compiled one of the earliest collections of hadith (sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), which became an important source for Islamic jurisprudence.
Ishaq ibn Hunayn (830-910 CE), also known as Isaac the Elder, was a Nestorian Christian philosopher and physician who made significant contributions to the translation of Greek scientific and philosophical texts into Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age.
In more recent history, Ishaq Chundrigar (1897-1960) was a prominent Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the first President of Pakistan from 1947 to 1948.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Ishaq throughout history. The name has maintained its significance and historical relevance across various cultures and time periods, particularly in the Middle East and among Arabic-speaking communities.
People
Ishaq + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ishaq 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
Ishaq: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ishaq?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 655 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ishaq 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 523,289 US residents.
Is Ishaq a common name?
We classify Ishaq as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 662 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ishaq most popular?
The single biggest year for Ishaq was 2023, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ishaq is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ishaq a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ishaq 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.
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.