2000
#3,476
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.48
Uncommon Last name
Israel
A Biblical place name adopted as a surname by Jews and some Christians, referring to the ancient kingdom.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,203 Americans carry the last name Israel. That puts it at #3,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Israel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Israel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,960
Census rank
#3,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,514 bearers of the surname Israel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Israel, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Israel
The surname Israel has its origins in the ancient Hebrew name Yisrael, meaning "one who struggles with God" or "one who has prevailed with God." It is derived from the biblical figure Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after he wrestled with an angel of God (Genesis 32:28).
The name Israel first appeared as a surname among Jewish communities in the Middle Ages. It was likely adopted as a way to identify individuals or families with a connection to the land of Israel or as a reflection of their religious and cultural heritage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Israel can be found in the Aramaic documents of the Cairo Geniza, a collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt. These documents date back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
In the 13th century, the surname Israel is mentioned in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica, a record of ecclesiastical taxes in England. This suggests that individuals bearing the surname had settled in England by that time.
Notable individuals with the surname Israel throughout history include:
1. Benjamin Israel (1616-1669), a Dutch philosopher and writer who was one of the first to argue for the separation of church and state.
2. Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657), a Portuguese-Dutch rabbi and scholar who played a significant role in the readmission of Jews to England in the 17th century.
3. Manasseh Israel (1772-1847), an American soldier and politician who served as the first Jewish governor of South Carolina from 1799 to 1802.
4. Isaac Israel (1629-1707), a Dutch merchant and philanthropist who was influential in the Jewish community of Amsterdam.
5. Jonathan Israel (born 1946), a British historian and academic who has written extensively on the Enlightenment and the Dutch Golden Age.
The surname Israel has also been associated with various place names, such as Israel's Field in Gloucestershire, England, and Israel's Town in Jamaica, which was named after the Jewish settler families who established the town in the 17th century.
While the surname Israel has its roots in the ancient Hebrew name and the biblical figure, it has become a widespread surname across various cultures and regions, reflecting the global dispersion of Jewish communities and the adoption of the name by individuals of diverse backgrounds.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Israel
Among Census respondents with the surname Israel, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Israel bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Israel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.2% · 6,931
- Black or African American27.1% · 3,118
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 602
- Two or more races3.5% · 400
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 377
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 86
Timeline
Historical Census data for Israel
Israel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,245
+844 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 3.47
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#3,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,514
+1,269 bearers (+12.4%)
Per 100,000 3.85
Rank movement Up 443 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,476 | 9,401 | 3.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,488 | 10,245 | 3.47 | +844 bearers (+9.0%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #3,045 | 11,514 | 3.85 | +1,269 bearers (+12.4%) | Up 443 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Israel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,488 | #3,045 | 12.7% |
| Count | 10,245 | 11,514 | 12.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.47 | 3.85 | 11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Israel bearers went from 10,245 to 11,514 (+12.4% change). The surname moved up 443 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,488 to #3,045.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Israel
FAQ
Israel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Israel?
Name Census estimates that about 13,203 living Americans carry the surname Israel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,960 residents.
How common is Israel?
Israel ranks #3,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,514 people with the surname Israel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,203), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Israel.
Has Israel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Israel went from 10,245 recorded bearers to 11,514. That is an increase of 1,269 (+12.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,488 to #3,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Israel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Israel, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Israel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.2% (6,931 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Israel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.2%), Black (27.1%), Hispanic (5.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Israel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Israel mean?
A Biblical place name adopted as a surname by Jews and some Christians, referring to the ancient kingdom. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Israel (3.85 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Israel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.