Ismael

What Ismael means

Form of Ishmael, meaning “God hears, God will hear”

form of Ishmael || From Hebrew יִשְׁמָעֵאל (yishma'él (yišmāʿēl), “God hears, God will hear”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Ismael” (revision 93671688) and “Ishmael” (revision 93542481), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Ismael?

US: Rising: up from #401 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #727 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2024, when 1,535 boys got the name (#234 that year). First in the US records in 1903.

How common

• About 1 in 1,307 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 7,156 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NM (3.08 per 1,000 boys), AZ (2.23 per 1,000 boys), CA (1.87 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Ismael is #263 in the US and #845 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Ismael were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ismail204 US · 200 E&W
• Ismaeel29 US · 79 E&W
• Izmael27 US
• Esmael10 US
• Ezmael6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Ismael

Boys

• Walker#78Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #340 in 2015, #78 in 2025
• Emilio#154Spanish and Italian, meaning “rival”^*
• Tate#193Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #420 in 2015, #193 in 2025
• Callum#118Variant of Calum, meaning “dove”^*
• Cyrus#268Editor’s note Up from #469 in 2015 to #268 in 2025 in the US
• Jaziel#198Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #934 in 2015, #198 in 2025

For a sister

• Hallie#120Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #565 in 2015, #120 in 2025
• Alora#195“my dream”^*
• Josie#82Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #250 in 2015, #82 in 2025
• Maeve#76“intoxicating”^*
• Lainey#30Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #576 in 2015, #30 in 2025
• Sage#160“sedge”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Ismael’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.