How rare is the name Israel?

72,115 people in the United States have the first name Israel, about 1 in 4,188. It ranks #711 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ISRAEL

#711

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
72,115
About
1 in 4,188
This common or more
64.7%
Who bears it

Of the 72,115 people named Israel, 77.3% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% as White and 9.3% as Black. 98.5% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Israel peaked in 2007, when 1,995 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2007
Births that year
1,995
In 2025*
1,123 ▼44%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 72,874 babies have been given the name since 1880. 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.

Israel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #425. The largest share of babies named Israel, 34.5%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#843202
1890s#1,226164
1900s#1,289210
1910s#1,0481,051
1920s#1,2671,110
1930s#1,426775
1940s#1,425965
1950s#1,2161,858
1960s#1,0592,680
1970s#7335,448
1980s#6926,384
1990s#54010,456
2000s#42516,535
2010s#43416,294
2020s#4568,742
Before 19010.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–273%
Silent Generation 1928–451.9%
Baby boom 1946–644.8%
Generation X 1965–8010.5%
Millennials 1981–9616.9%
Generation Z 1997–1234.5%
2013 and later27.8%

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 Israel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Israel has been most common in Texas (2.9×), Arizona (2.6×), and New Mexico (2.2×), and least common in District of Columbia (0.16×).

67,164 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 Israel

#709 Abby · 72,431#710 Bianca · 72,256#712 Duane · 71,865#713 Payton · 71,786

Spelled almost the same

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

#14,661 Isrrael · 800#49,014 Israela · 128

Also a last name

As a last name, Israel ranks #3,045 of 156,621, with 11,514 people. See Israel as a last name

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