Yisrael
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "one who struggles with God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,474 living Americans carry the first name Yisrael. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yisrael today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yisrael births was 2024 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yisrael. 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
- • Yisrael is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 232,533 Americans
Peak year
2024
81 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,948
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Yisrael: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yisrael 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 604 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yisrael remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yisrael 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 Yisrael during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yisraels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Yisrael, while Illinois, Maryland, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 152 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yisrael
The given name Yisrael has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew phrase "Yisra El," which translates to "one who struggles with God" or "one who prevails with God." This name holds significant historical and religious importance in the Abrahamic faiths.
The name Yisrael is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, where it refers to the patriarch Jacob, who was given this name after wrestling with an angel of God. According to the biblical account, Jacob's name was changed to Yisrael, and he became the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Yisrael was the biblical figure Yisrael ben Eliezer, also known as the Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), who was the founder of the Hasidic movement in Judaism. His teachings and philosophy had a profound impact on Jewish mysticism and spirituality.
Another notable historical figure with the name Yisrael was Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838-1933), also known as the Chofetz Chaim, who was a renowned rabbi and author of several influential works on Jewish law and ethics.
In the realm of literature, Yisrael Zangwill (1864-1926) was a British writer and playwright of Jewish descent, known for his works that explored Jewish identity and Zionism. His novel "Children of the Ghetto" (1892) was a seminal work in depicting the lives of Jewish immigrants in London's East End.
Yisrael Kristal (1903-2017) holds the distinction of being recognized as the world's oldest living man by the Guinness World Records in 2016. He was a Holocaust survivor who lived through both World Wars and witnessed the establishment of the State of Israel.
Yisrael Aumann (born 1930) is an Israeli-American mathematician and game theorist who was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2005 for his contributions to the field of game theory and its applications in economics.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Yisrael, showcasing its enduring significance and the diverse backgrounds of those who carried this name.
People
Yisrael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yisrael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yisrael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yisrael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,474 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yisrael 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 232,533 US residents.
Is Yisrael a common name?
We classify Yisrael as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,492 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yisrael most popular?
The single biggest year for Yisrael was 2024, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yisrael is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yisrael a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yisrael 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.