Ishmael
From the Hebrew Yishma'el, God hears. In the book of Genesis it belongs to the son of Abraham and Hagar.
Ishmael in 2025
Ishmael was given to 121 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 3,112th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 27,400 babies born.
The history of Ishmael
Ishmael reached its highest point in 2017, when 158 babies were given the name, ranking 2,581st that year. Its best-ever ranking was 1,579th, in 1880.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 6,794 babies have been named Ishmael. Half of them were born before 1999, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Ishmael by decade
| Decade | Babies named Ishmael | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 6 | 1,579 |
| 1890s | 17 | 1,973 |
| 1900s | 17 | 2,376 |
| 1910s | 296 | 1,656 |
| 1920s | 321 | 2,054 |
| 1930s | 223 | 2,653 |
| 1940s | 146 | 3,319 |
| 1950s | 164 | 3,459 |
| 1960s | 155 | 4,132 |
| 1970s | 372 | 2,944 |
| 1980s | 538 | 2,827 |
| 1990s | 1,233 | 2,069 |
| 2000s | 1,205 | 2,305 |
| 2010s | 1,355 | 2,581 |
| 2020s | 746 | 2,724 |
Where Ishmael is heading
Ishmael has fallen 19% over the past decade, from 150 babies in 2015 to 121 in 2025.
Names like Ishmael
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Ishmael.