Isaac

Where Isaac comes from

From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”). Explained in Genesis as referring to his mother Sarah’s laughing when she was told she would have a son at her old age. The verb is masculine, however, perhaps due to its use as a boy’s name.
— Wiktionary's entry for Isaac
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1642
    Isaac Newton born
    English mathematician and physicist
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #62 among boys — 274 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1920
    Isaac Asimov born
    American writer and biochemist
  4. 2013
    Peak, #28
    10,134 babies named Isaac — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2013
    The comeback
    Back to #28 after sinking to #377 in 1967.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Isaac Newton · English mathematician and physicist, 1642–1727
  • Isaac Asimov · American writer and biochemist, 1920–1992
  • Isaac Bashevis Singer · Polish-American writer, 1903–1991
  • Isaac Herzog · President of Israel since 2021, born 1960
  • Isaac Albéniz · Spanish composer, 1860–1909

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.