Isaac
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will laugh".
Roughly 296,602 people in the United States go by the first name Isaac, which ranks #40 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Isaac today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isaac births was 2007 (10,287 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Mia (294,916).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isaac. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Isaac with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Isaac is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 774 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
297K
~ 1 in 1,156 Americans
Peak year
2007
10,287 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#40
Tracked since 1880
Census
Isaac in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 242,216 people with the first name Isaac, which placed it at #231 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#231
National first-name rank
People counted
242K
242,216 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
80.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isaac
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isaac is White at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.6%) and Black (9.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Isaac 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Isaac at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.7% · 108,295
- Hispanic or Latino36.6% · 88,615
- Black or African American9.8% · 23,753
- Two or more races4.8% · 11,644
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 8,135
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,774
Gender
Gender distribution for Isaac
Out of the 326,231 babies given the name Isaac since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Isaac as a male name
- Ranked #40 in 2024
- 6,498 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (10,274 births)
Isaac as a female name
- Ranked #14,107 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (41 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isaac appears almost entirely male. Of the 242,217 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Isaac: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isaac from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 94,650 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Isaac remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isaac 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 Isaac during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isaacs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Isaac, while Delaware, Wyoming, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6,224 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isaac
The name Isaac originates from the Hebrew language and can be traced back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which means "he laughs" or "he shall laugh." This name is deeply rooted in the Abrahamic religions, particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In the Book of Genesis, Isaac is the name given to the son of Abraham and Sarah, who was born when they were already very old. The name was chosen by God as a symbol of the laughter and joy that accompanied his birth. Isaac played a pivotal role in the biblical narrative as the patriarch of the Israelites and the father of Jacob and Esau.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Isaac can be found in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. The name appears frequently throughout the text, particularly in the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Chronicles.
Throughout history, the name Isaac has been borne by numerous notable figures. One of the most famous was Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and natural philosopher, who lived from 1642 to 1727. His groundbreaking work, including the laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation, laid the foundations for classical mechanics and made him one of the most influential scientists of all time.
Another prominent figure with the name Isaac was Isaac Asimov, the American writer and professor of biochemistry, who lived from 1920 to 1992. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and influential science fiction writers of the 20th century, known for his works such as the Foundation series and the Three Laws of Robotics.
In the realm of music, Isaac Stern was a renowned American violinist who lived from 1920 to 2001. He was celebrated for his virtuosic performances and his efforts to promote and preserve classical music. Additionally, Isaac Hayes, the American singer-songwriter and actor, who lived from 1942 to 2008, left an indelible mark on the world of soul music with his iconic songs and soundtracks, including the theme from the film "Shaft."
Another notable bearer of the name was Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Polish-American writer and Nobel Prize laureate, who lived from 1902 to 1991. He was widely recognized for his literary works that explored the Jewish experience and preserved the traditions and folklore of Eastern European Jewish communities.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Isaac, highlighting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various fields and regions.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Isaac
People
Isaac + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isaac as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Isaac: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isaac?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 296,602 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isaac 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 1,156 US residents.
Is Isaac a common name?
We classify Isaac as "Common". It ranks above 99.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 326,231 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isaac most popular?
The single biggest year for Isaac was 2007, when 10,287 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isaac is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isaac in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 242,216 people with the name Isaac, or 80.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #231 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Isaac in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Isaac?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isaac appears almost entirely male. Of the 242,217 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Isaac?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isaac is White at 44.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.6%) and Black (9.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Isaac most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Isaac in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.7% (108,295 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Isaac in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isaac a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Isaac 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.
Is Isaac still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isaac in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Isaac can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Isaac?
Want to know how many people have the name Isaac? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.