Yitzchak
Masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will laugh".
Name Census estimates that about 1,375 living Americans carry the first name Yitzchak. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yitzchak today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yitzchak births was 2022 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yitzchak. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 249,276 Americans
Peak year
2022
61 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,516
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Yitzchak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yitzchak from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 402 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yitzchak remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yitzchak 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 Yitzchak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yitzchaks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Maryland recorded the most babies named Yitzchak, while Maryland, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 325 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yitzchak
The given name Yitzchak originates from the Hebrew language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew verb "tsachak," meaning "to laugh" or "to rejoice." The name is often associated with the biblical figure Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, whose name in Hebrew is Yitzchak.
One of the earliest recorded appearances of the name Yitzchak can be found in the Book of Genesis, where it is mentioned as the name given to Isaac by his parents Abraham and Sarah. The biblical narrative describes how Sarah laughed in disbelief when told that she would bear a child in her old age, and the name Yitzchak was chosen to commemorate this laughter of joy.
Throughout Jewish history, the name Yitzchak has been widely used and has gained significant cultural and religious significance. Some notable individuals who bore this name include:
1. Yitzchak ben Yaakov Alfasi (1013-1103), a renowned Talmudic scholar and codifier of Jewish law from Algeria.
2. Yitzchak Luria (1534-1572), also known as the Arizal, a prominent Kabbalist and mystic from Safed, Palestine.
3. Yitzchak Abravanel (1437-1508), a Jewish philosopher, biblical commentator, and statesman who served as a finance minister in Portugal and Spain.
4. Yitzchak Baer (1888-1980), an influential Israeli historian and scholar of Jewish history and culture.
5. Yitzchak Rabin (1922-1995), an Israeli politician and military leader who served as the Prime Minister of Israel and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
The name Yitzchak has transcended its biblical origins and has been embraced by various Jewish communities worldwide. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its rich historical and cultural significance, as well as its association with the biblical figure Isaac, who is revered as a patriarch in both Judaism and Islam.
People
Yitzchak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yitzchak 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
Yitzchak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yitzchak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,375 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yitzchak 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 249,276 US residents.
Is Yitzchak a common name?
We classify Yitzchak as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yitzchak most popular?
The single biggest year for Yitzchak was 2022, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yitzchak is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yitzchak a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yitzchak 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.