Fun Facts About the Name Issaac
- 173 babies named Issaac: U.S. records list 173 babies given the name Issaac from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Issaac Mean?
Issaac is a spelling variant of Isaac, a name that comes from Biblical Hebrew. Its Hebrew form is Yiṣḥāq (יִצְחָק), built on the root ṣḥq, which means "to laugh." The plain sense of the name is usually given as "he laughs" or "laughter."
In the book of Genesis the name is explained through wordplay on laughter. Sarah laughs when she hears that she will bear a son in her old age, and Abraham also laughs at the announcement. These Genesis explanations are traditional wordplays rather than a strict dictionary definition, and some scholars treat the exact original sense of the Hebrew name as uncertain, while "he laughs" remains the standard reading.
Issaac Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the biblical patriarch Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, whose story is told in Genesis. From Hebrew Yiṣḥāq it passed into Greek as Isaak (Ἰσαάκ) and then into Latin as Isaacus or Isaac, the form that entered English. The same figure appears in Arabic as Isḥāq (إسحاق), and the name is used in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions.
In Western Europe the name was carried by saints and later by well-known figures such as the scientist Isaac Newton, which kept the standard spelling Isaac familiar in English.
Issaac is a variant spelling in which the s and the second vowel are doubled. This kind of respelling represents the same name and the same pronunciation tradition rather than a separate origin. Documented history tied specifically to the doubled-letter spelling is limited, so it is best understood as a modern spelling form of Isaac.
How Popular is the Name Issaac?
Issaac has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1983. Its best rank was #3,724 in 1983.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | #13,096 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #12,818 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #7,763 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #13,004 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #11,528 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #11,462 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #7,187 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #7,268 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #6,641 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #11,057 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #6,214 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #7,110 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #8,578 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #9,409 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #9,378 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #8,032 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #7,643 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #6,062 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #7,354 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #4,171 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #6,730 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #3,724 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #6,757 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,682 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #5,349 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Issaac Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Issaac's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Issaac's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.