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Boy · Hebrew
Israel
Say it: IZ-ree-ul
Meaning
From Hebrew Yisra'el, traditionally explained as 'he struggles with God'; the exact sense of the first element is debated.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Used by Puritans in England and New England, and today widely among Hispanic and Jewish families.
Its wave through time
Popular now
In the United States
- 65,645 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 2007, about 1 in 1,100 boys
- 1,568 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
| Hebrew | Yisrael |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Israel |
| French | Israël |
Famous bearers
- Israel, the name given to Jacob in the Bible
- Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary general
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Puritan church and town records of England and New England
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.