Isco
A diminutive of Spanish names derived from Francisco or Francisco Javier.
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Isco. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Isco today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isco births was 2018 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isco. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Isco. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
2018
9 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,813
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Isco: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isco from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 23 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isco 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 Isco during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isco
The given name Isco is believed to have its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France. It is thought to derive from the Basque word "izko" which means "thicket" or "bramble". This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked with brambles or thickets.
The earliest recorded use of the name Isco dates back to the late 15th century in the Basque Country. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Isco de Zubillaga, a Basque farmer and landowner who lived in the late 1400s.
In the 16th century, the name Isco appeared in several historical records and texts from the Basque region. For example, the Basque writer and poet Isco Zarauz, born in 1532, used the name in his works.
As the Basque people migrated and settled in different parts of Spain and Latin America, the name Isco spread to other regions. One notable bearer of the name was Isco de Guzmán, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, Isco Martínez, a Basque-born soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War, was mentioned in several military records and chronicles from that time.
The name Isco has continued to be used throughout history, although it has remained relatively uncommon outside of the Basque region and parts of Spain. Other notable figures with the name include Isco Alarcón, a Spanish professional soccer player born in 1992, and Isco Rubio, a Mexican painter and artist from the early 20th century.
While the name Isco is not as widespread as some other given names, it has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in the Basque region where it originated. Its meaning and association with nature and the land have given it a unique character and identity.
People
Isco + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isco 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
Isco: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isco?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isco 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 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Isco a common name?
We classify Isco as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isco most popular?
The single biggest year for Isco was 2018, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isco is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Isco in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isco a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isco 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 Isco still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isco 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 Isco 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Isco?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.