Yissel
A feminine name of Hebrew origin, a variation of Jezebel.
Name Census estimates that about 368 living Americans carry the first name Yissel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yissel today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yissel births was 2007 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yissel. 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
368
~ 1 in 931,398 Americans
Peak year
2007
23 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,209
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Yissel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yissel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 149 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
Yissel 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 Yissel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yissels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yissel
The name Yissel is believed to have originated from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which means "he will laugh" or "he will rejoice." It is a variant of the more common English name Isaac. The earliest recorded instance of the name Yissel can be traced back to the 13th century, when it appeared in Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.
In the 16th century, Yissel was also found in records of Sephardic Jewish communities in Spain and Portugal. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled as Yishel or Yishell. It is possible that the name was influenced by the Spanish name Isidro, which shares similar roots with the Hebrew name Isaac.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Yissel was Yissel ben Eliezer, a 14th-century rabbi and scholar from Poland. He was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and his commentary on the Talmud.
In the 17th century, Yissel Mikhailovich was a prominent Russian merchant and philanthropist. He was known for his support of various charitable causes and for his role in fostering trade relations between Russia and other European countries.
Fast forward to the 19th century, Yissel Toporovsky was a Russian-Jewish writer and journalist who played a significant role in the development of modern Hebrew literature. He was a proponent of the Haskalah movement, which sought to promote Jewish enlightenment and cultural renewal.
In the early 20th century, Yissel Rabinovitch was a Belarusian-born American painter and sculptor. He was a prominent figure in the New York art scene and is best known for his abstract expressionist works.
Yissel Grinspan was a Polish-born Israeli politician and activist who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a key role in the establishment of several organizations dedicated to advancing the status of women in Israeli society.
While the name Yissel may have fallen out of widespread use in recent times, its rich history and connection to various cultural and religious traditions make it a unique and intriguing name with a fascinating legacy.
People
Yissel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yissel 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
Yissel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yissel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 368 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yissel 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 931,398 US residents.
Is Yissel a common name?
We classify Yissel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 375 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yissel most popular?
The single biggest year for Yissel was 2007, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yissel is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yissel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yissel in the SSA data are female. 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.