How rare is the name Ismail?

6,001 people in the United States have the first name Ismail, about 1 in 50,330. It ranks #3,461 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ISMAIL

#3,461

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
6,001
About
1 in 50,330
This common or more
82.4%
Who bears it

Of the 6,001 people named Ismail, 39% reported their origin as White, 31.6% as Black and 18.8% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Ismail peaked in 2025, when 204 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19622025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
204
In 2025*
204
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 4,022 babies have been given the name since 1962. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Ismail by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #2,754. The largest share of babies named Ismail, 47%, were born in 2013 or later.

1960s#13,98612
1970s#6,771138
1980s#5,545247
1990s#4,036544
2000s#3,706860
2010s#2,9021,349
2020s#2,754872
Baby boom 1946–640.3%
Generation X 1965–804.2%
Millennials 1981–9614%
Generation Z 1997–1234.5%
2013 and later47%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Ismail is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ismail has been most common in Minnesota (4.3×), New York (3.1×), and New Jersey (2.4×), and least common in Georgia (0.57×).

2,426 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Ismail

#3,459 Adria · 6,005#3,460 Chantelle · 6,004#3,462 Anneliese · 5,997#3,462 Vivien · 5,997

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ismail, most common first.

#881 Ismael · 51,341#28,814 Ismaila · 310#29,557 Ishmail · 299#38,781 Ismal · 197

Also a last name

As a last name, Ismail ranks #3,934 of 156,621, with 8,759 people. See Ismail as a last name

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