boys' name ★ peaked 2007

Isaac

Meaning he laughs, he will laugh Gender Boy Rank 2025 #47 Trend ↓ Falling 17%

From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”).

Rank 2025
#47
among boys · ↓6 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,963
named Isaac · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 287
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2007
10,287 babies
All-time total
332,292
#103 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Isaac popularity over time

332,292 babies have been named Isaac since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 2,311 2,311 231 – #62
1890s – 1,735 1,735 174 -25% #92
1900s – 1,638 1,638 164 -6% #116
1910s 7 4,952 4,959 496 +203% #130
1920s 17 6,552 6,569 657 +32% #190
1930s 21 4,715 4,736 474 -28% #231
1940s 25 5,064 5,089 509 +7% #246
1950s 32 5,479 5,511 551 +8% #282
1960s 26 4,605 4,631 463 -16% #349
1970s 88 10,480 10,568 1,057 +128% #151
1980s 144 18,374 18,518 1,852 +75% #137
1990s 116 40,271 40,387 4,039 +118% #64
2000s 174 90,761 90,935 9,094 +125% #37
2010s 103 94,574 94,677 9,468 +4% #28
2020s (to 2025) 31 39,997 40,028 6,671 -30% #39

Where Isaac is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 5,760 3.37 #52
2027 5,601 3.28 #52
2028 5,469 3.20 #56
2029 5,359 3.14 #57
2030 5,268 3.08 #57

Where Isaac is most popular

Boys named Isaac per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.80 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Maryland, and Nebraska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Isaac born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 118 7.99 +110%
Maryland 692 5.80 +53%
Nebraska 246 5.66 +49%
Nevada 310 5.44 +43%
Massachusetts 745 5.42 +42%
Alaska 64 5.37 +41%
Rhode Island 87 5.34 +40%
Hawaii 82 5.28 +39%
Delaware 80 5.28 +39%
New Mexico 173 5.25 +38%
New Jersey 1,021 5.07 +33%
Washington 829 5.07 +33%
Montana 89 5.05 +33%
Wyoming 29 5.01 +32%
California 4,556 4.98 +31%
Oregon 366 4.82 +27%
New York 2,076 4.79 +26%
Virginia 908 4.79 +26%
Michigan 978 4.78 +26%
Iowa 319 4.63 +22%
South Dakota 84 4.51 +19%
Utah 430 4.50 +18%
Kansas 309 4.50 +18%
Minnesota 552 4.50 +18%
Connecticut 299 4.42 +16%
New Hampshire 98 4.41 +16%
Illinois 1,120 4.38 +15%
Colorado 561 4.35 +14%
Oklahoma 384 4.34 +14%
Indiana 694 4.33 +14%
Pennsylvania 1,143 4.30 +13%
Florida 2,016 4.26 +12%
Arizona 696 4.25 +12%
West Virginia 138 4.23 +11%
Texas 3,704 4.20 +11%
Wisconsin 489 4.13 +9%
North Carolina 1,050 4.11 +8%
Maine 79 4.07 +7%
Idaho 161 3.93 ≈ national
Ohio 1,022 3.86 ≈ national
Georgia 952 3.76 ≈ national
North Dakota 64 3.75 ≈ national
Arkansas 235 3.71 ≈ national
Alabama 399 3.65 ≈ national
Missouri 504 3.64 ≈ national
Tennessee 651 3.61 -5%
South Carolina 361 3.49 -8%
Kentucky 338 3.37 -11%
Louisiana 337 3.29 -13%
Mississippi 164 2.89 -24%
Vermont 13 2.07 -46%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Isaac

Isaac is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #47 in 2025 with 5,953 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 332,292 American babies have been named Isaac. Its peak came in 2007, when 10,287 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Isaac stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Isaac?

The median living Isaac is about 17 years old; half are between 10 and 26. An estimated 302 thousand people named Isaac are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Isaac year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 10 #9,719 5,953 #47
2024 6 #14,153 6,529 #41
2023 7 #12,663 6,621 #42
2022 – – 6,752 #41
2021 – – 6,987 #40
2020 8 #11,492 7,155 #39
2019 11 #9,352 8,231 #34
2018 9 #10,901 8,503 #34
2017 12 #8,994 8,894 #32
2016 15 #7,751 9,782 #31
2015 12 #9,169 9,988 #31
2014 13 #8,661 9,999 #31
2013 7 #13,720 10,134 #28
2012 11 #9,975 10,065 #30
2011 8 #12,607 9,607 #35
2010 5 #18,038 9,371 #39
2009 12 #9,609 9,569 #40
2008 15 #8,279 10,030 #37
2007 13 #9,199 10,274 #41
2006 14 #8,427 9,685 #48
2005 21 #5,891 9,127 #49
2004 41 #3,588 9,181 #46
2003 16 #7,003 8,944 #48
2002 11 #9,076 8,312 #48
2001 15 #7,094 8,200 #47
2000 16 #6,605 7,439 #53
1995 11 #7,714 3,881 #98
1990 10 #8,102 2,429 #132
1985 10 #6,626 1,673 #165
1980 19 #4,044 1,798 #150
1975 11 #5,274 1,014 #213
1970 6 #7,399 569 #333
1965 – – 428 #375
1960 – – 467 #365
1955 – – 545 #315
1950 – – 557 #282
1945 5 #4,850 460 #281
1940 – – 486 #246
1935 5 #4,502 476 #241
1930 – – 548 #231
1925 6 #4,667 678 #206
1920 – – 706 #191
1915 – – 568 #196
1910 – – 252 #130
1905 – – 147 #145
1900 – – 198 #116
1895 – – 172 #107
1890 – – 187 #92
1885 – – 204 #79
1880 – – 274 #62

Famous people named Isaac

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Isaac Newton Isaac Newton English polymath (1642–1727) 1643–1726 · 17th century
  2. 2 Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov American writer and biochemist (1920–1992) Contemporary
  3. 3 Isaac Hayes Isaac Hayes American musician and actor (1942–2008) Contemporary
  4. 4 Isaac Isaac Biblical patriarch, son of Abraham and Sarah b. -1900 · Antiquity
  5. 5 Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer Jewish American author (1903–1991) 1902–1991 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Isaac Singer Isaac Singer American inventor and businessman (1811–1875) 19th century
  7. 7 Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos Byzantine emperor (1185–1195; 1203–1204) 1155–1204 · Medieval
  8. 8 Isaac in Islam Isaac in Islam Islamic view of Isaac the son of Abraham
  9. 9 Isaac Luria Isaac Luria Rabbi and Kabbalist (c.1534–1572) 16th century
  10. 10 Isaac Babel Isaac Babel Russian writer and journalist (1894–1940) 19th century
  11. 11 Isaac Albéniz Isaac Albéniz Spanish composer (1860–1909) 19th century
  12. 12 Isaac Stern Isaac Stern American violinist (1920–2001) Contemporary
  13. 13 Isaac I Komnenos Isaac I Komnenos Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059 1007–1060 · Medieval
  14. 14 Isaac Deutscher Isaac Deutscher Polish-British historian and Marxist (1907–1967) Contemporary
  15. 15 Isaac Levitan Isaac Levitan Russian painter (1860–1900) 19th century
  16. 16 Isaac Barrow Isaac Barrow English Christian theologian, and mathematician (1630–1677) 1631–1677 · 17th century
  17. 17 Isaac Abarbanel Isaac Abarbanel Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, & financier (1437–1508) Medieval
  18. 18 Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus Emperor in Cyprus 1155–1196 · Medieval
  19. 19 Isaac Casaubon Isaac Casaubon European classical scholar and philologist (1559–1614) 16th century
  20. 20 Isaac Israëls Isaac Israëls Dutch painter (1865–1934) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Isaac, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Isaac?

The median living Isaac is about 17 years old. Half of all living Isaacs are between 10 and 26 years old.

How many people named Isaac are alive today?

An estimated 302 thousand people named Isaac are alive in the United States, based on 332,292 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Isaac mean?

From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”).

How popular is the name Isaac in 2025?

Isaac ranked #47 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,953 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Isaac?

332,292 babies have been named Isaac in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Isaac most popular?

Isaac peaked in 2007, when 10,287 newborns received the name.

Is Isaac a boy or girl name?

Isaac is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Isaac rising or falling?

Isaac is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Isaac become more popular?

Isaac is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 5,268 boys named Isaac in 2030, which would rank around #57. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Isaac?

Well-known people named Isaac include Isaac Newton (physicist), Isaac Asimov (writer), Isaac Hayes (musician).

Names like Isaac

Names that sound and feel close to Isaac: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Isaac with similar names → More names starting with I →