Izaak
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will laugh".
Name Census estimates that about 2,804 living Americans carry the first name Izaak. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Izaak today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Izaak births was 2011 (138 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Izaak. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Izaak with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 122,238 Americans
Peak year
2011
138 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,506
Tracked since 1972
Census
Izaak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,157 people with the first name Izaak, which placed it at #7,147 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
#7,147
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,157 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Izaak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Izaak is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.6%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Izaak 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 Izaak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.0% · 1,121
- Hispanic or Latino35.6% · 768
- Two or more races6.5% · 141
- Black or African American3.3% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 27
Popularity
Izaak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Izaak from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,048 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Izaak 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 Izaak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Izaaks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Izaak, while Nevada, Nebraska, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Izaak
The name Izaak originates from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which means "he will laugh" or "he will rejoice." It is derived from the Hebrew root tzchk, meaning "to laugh" or "to rejoice." The name has its roots in the biblical story of Abraham and Sarah, who laughed in joy and disbelief when they were told they would have a son in their old age.
The name Yitzchak was later transliterated into Greek as Isaak and then into Latin as Isaac. The spelling Izaak emerged as a variant in several European languages, including Dutch, German, and English. It was particularly popular among Protestants during the Protestant Reformation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Izaak is in the medieval Dutch work "Rijmbijbel" (Rhymed Bible) from the 13th century. The name also appears in other medieval texts and religious works across Europe.
Izaak Walton (1593-1683) was an English writer best known for his book "The Compleat Angler," a classic work on the art of fishing. He is considered a father of the literary genre known as pastoral literature.
Izaak Bredero (1585-1618) was a Dutch playwright and poet who wrote in the vernacular style, helping to establish Dutch as a literary language. His works, such as "De Spaansche Brabander" and "Moortje," are considered classics of Dutch literature.
Izaak van Mosscher (1612-1670) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his portraits and genre scenes. He was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke and is considered one of the most talented portrait painters of his time.
Izaak Jansz Vingboons (1608-1669) was a Dutch architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Amsterdam, including the Westerkerk and the Montelbaanstoren.
Izaak Antonides van der Goes (1647-1719) was a Dutch poet and playwright known for his work "Ystroom" (Ice Stream), a poetic description of the winter landscape and ice skating in the Netherlands. He was considered one of the leading poets of his time.
People
Izaak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Izaak 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
Izaak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Izaak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,804 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Izaak 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 122,238 US residents.
Is Izaak a common name?
We classify Izaak as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,846 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Izaak most popular?
The single biggest year for Izaak was 2011, when 138 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Izaak 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 Izaak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,157 people with the name Izaak, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,147 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 Izaak 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 Izaak?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Izaak appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,157 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Izaak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Izaak is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.6%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Izaak most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Izaak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (1,121 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 Izaak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Izaak a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Izaak 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 Izaak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Izaak 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 Izaak 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 have Izaak as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.