Israel
A Hebrew name meaning "he who struggles with God" or "God prevails".
Name Census estimates that about 65,842 living Americans carry the first name Israel. It sits at #279 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Israel today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Israel births was 2007 (1,994 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Israel. 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 Israel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Israel is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,593 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
66K
~ 1 in 5,206 Americans
Peak year
2007
1,994 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#279
Tracked since 1880
Census
Israel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 72,112 people with the first name Israel, which placed it at #711 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
#711
National first-name rank
People counted
72K
72,112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
23.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
77.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Israel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Israel is Hispanic at 77.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.4%) and Black (9.3%). 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 Israel 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 Israel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino77.3% · 55,709
- White10.4% · 7,526
- Black or African American9.3% · 6,678
- Two or more races1.7% · 1,241
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 711
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 247
Gender
Gender distribution for Israel
Israel leans heavily male at 97.8% of total registrations, but 1,593 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Israel as a male name
- Ranked #279 in 2024
- 1,220 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (1,936 births)
Israel as a female name
- Ranked #3,901 in 2024
- 38 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (70 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Israel leans strongly male. 70,999 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 1,116 female bearers (1.5%).
Popularity
Israel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Israel from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 16,534 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Israel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Israel 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 Israel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Israels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Israel, while Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,349 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Israel
The name Israel has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew words "Yisra'el" or "Yisra'el," which are believed to mean "one who struggles with God" or "God contends."
The name Israel is closely associated with the biblical figure Jacob, also known as Israel, who is described in the Book of Genesis as having wrestled with an angel or divine being. After this encounter, Jacob was given the name Israel, which became the name of his descendants and the nation they formed.
The name Israel first appears in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, where it refers to both the individual Jacob/Israel and the nation formed by his descendants, the Israelites. The name is prominently featured throughout the biblical texts, particularly in the books of Genesis, Exodus, and the historical books of the Hebrew Bible.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Israel is the biblical patriarch Jacob, who lived around the 18th century BCE according to traditional dating. In the Bible, Jacob's name is changed to Israel after his encounter with the divine being.
Another notable figure named Israel in ancient history is King Hoshea, the last king of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE, who ruled during a turbulent period and was eventually deposed by the Assyrian Empire.
In the New Testament, the name Israel is used to refer to the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, and their role in the divine plan. The apostle Paul, a key figure in early Christianity, often discusses the relationship between the church and Israel.
During the Middle Ages, the name Israel was not widely used, as it was primarily associated with the biblical and Jewish context. However, it gained popularity among certain Christian groups who sought to connect with the biblical heritage.
One notable figure named Israel from this period is Israel ben Joseph Benjamin II, also known as Israel the Elder, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and author from Spain.
As the Protestant Reformation gained momentum in the 16th century, the name Israel became more widely used among certain Protestant groups who emphasized the study of the Hebrew Bible and the connection with the biblical Israelites.
In the modern era, the name Israel has become more widely used, particularly after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. It has been borne by several notable individuals, such as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a Hawaiian musician and activist (1959-1997), and Israel Adesanya, a Nigerian-New Zealand professional mixed martial artist (born 1989).
Overall, the name Israel has a rich history rooted in the ancient Hebrew culture and the biblical narrative, with its meaning and significance evolving over time and across various religious and cultural contexts.
People
Israel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Israel 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
Israel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Israel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65,842 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Israel 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 5,206 US residents.
Is Israel a common name?
We classify Israel as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 71,727 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Israel most popular?
The single biggest year for Israel was 2007, when 1,994 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Israel is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Israel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 72,112 people with the name Israel, or 23.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #711 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 Israel 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 Israel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Israel leans strongly male. 70,999 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 1,116 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Israel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Israel is Hispanic at 77.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.4%) and Black (9.3%). 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 Israel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Israel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (55,709 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 Israel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Israel a male name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Israel 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 Israel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Israel 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 Israel 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 Americans are named Israel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.