Israel is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Israel means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Israel across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Israel has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Israel is a boy name of Hebrew origin meaning “he struggles with God”. The biblical name given to Jacob.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 72,874 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 1,327 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 19 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 51 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 52 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Israel per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2007 (1,995/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2016 (75/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2001 (7/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2009 (6/yr).
Israel has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2007, when it ranked #376 nationally (given to 2,034 babies that year).
Azriel · Azrael · Yisroel · Isreal · Izrael · Ezriel · Yisrael · Ezrael
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