Ishmael

#1,466 for boys in 2025, 121 births

Peak · boys
#783
1912 · 31 births
Debut · boys
1880
6 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
6,794
since 1880

Ishmael over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Ishmael has never cracked the top 700 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201995peak #783, 1912boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yearboys
rankbirths
2025#1,466121
2024#1,487121
2023#1,489120
2022#1,73197
2021#1,307143
2020#1,271144
2019#1,296143
2018#1,305139
2017#1,182158
2016#1,349132
2015#1,223150
2014#1,264141
2013#1,387121
2012#1,336127
2011#1,285133
2010#1,470111
2009#1,433117
2008#1,582100
2007#1,405116
2006#1,391114
2005#1,261124
2004#1,225124
2003#1,310106
2002#1,184118
2001#1,035142
2000#1,015144
1999#1,032134
1998#953146
1997#904152
1996#926141
1995#987126
1994#1,005122
1993#1,015117
1992#1,033112
1991#1,11397
1990#1,17686
1989#1,43358
1988#1,81537
1987#1,58744
1986#1,40350
1985#1,24259
1984#1,19059
1983#1,16660
1982#1,24256
1981#1,18860
1980#1,23855
1979#1,20657
1978#1,41043
1977#1,31247
1976#1,60833
1975#1,34542
1974#1,21547
1973#1,48533
1972#1,87123
1971#1,63729
1970#2,12518
1969#1,91419
1968#1,83619
1967#2,13914
1966#2,21613
1965#2,36612
1964#1,85019
1963#2,20014
1962#2,18614
1961#1,73122
1960#2,8719
1959#1,97417
1958#2,26513
1957#2,09315
1956#2,36112
1955#2,04815
1954#1,70620
1953#2,09914
1952#1,61522
1951#2,05514
1950#1,57222
1949#1,66720
1948#2,11513
1947#2,16913
1946#1,88415
1945#2,00912
1944#2,6338
1943#1,76417
1942#1,58520
1941#2,33310
1940#1,62718
1939#1,63617
1938#1,61318
1937#1,44422
1936#1,38423
1935#1,45322
1934#1,32326
1933#1,36124
1932#1,38725
1931#1,58920
1930#1,42826
1929#1,67220
1928#1,41327
1927#1,37229
1926#1,01846
1925#1,39028
1924#1,53225
1923#1,21335
1922#1,15838
1921#1,19936
1920#1,18037
1919#1,26431
1918#1,34328
1917#99743
1916#89249
1915#1,03738
1914#90736
1913#1,04923
1912#78331
1911#1,2908
1910#1,1189
1909—
1908—
1907#1,3455
1906—
1905—
1904#1,0646
1903—
1902—
1901#9436
1900—
1899—
1898—
1897—
1896#1,1015
1895—
1894—
1893#8367
1892#1,0665
1891—
1890—
1889—
1888—
1887—
1886—
1885—
1884—
1883—
1882—
1881—
1880#8096
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Ishmael was already there! It came in at #809, and was given to 6 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1881–1892, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

See more about Ishmael
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 21 spots since 2024 (#1,487 → #1,466)
  • 195 spots since 2020 (#1,271 → #1,466)
  • 243 spots since 2015 (#1,223 → #1,466)
  • Biggest jump: 507 spots in 1912 (#1,290 → #783)
  • Biggest drop: 346 spots in 1918 (#997 → #1,343)
Rise & fade · boys
32 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1912 at #783 (31 births)
  • Births halved by 1941, 29 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 11 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 11 yrs · run 1995–1998
Share of babies · boys
1 in 11,715
  • Highest: 1 in 11,715 boys born in 2017 were named Ishmael (0.01%)
  • Latest: 1 in 14,116 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
  • Its best rank, #783 in 1912, was only 1 in 13,869 (0.01%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2010s
  • 19.9% of all boys named Ishmael (1,355) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s6#809 (1880)#809
1890s17#836 (1893)#1,001
1900s17#943 (1901)#1,117
1910s296#783 (1912)#1,068
1920s321#1,018 (1926)#1,315
1930s223#1,323 (1934)#1,462
1940s146#1,585 (1942)#1,979
1950s164#1,572 (1950)#1,979
1960s155#1,731 (1961)#2,131
1970s372#1,206 (1979)#1,521
1980s538#1,166 (1983)#1,350
1990s1,233#904 (1997)#1,014
2000s1,205#1,015 (2000)#1,284
2010s1,355#1,182 (2017)#1,310
2020s746#1,271 (2020)#1,459

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Ishmael in 1995

boys
#987
126 births · 1 in 15,109 boys

Top boys' names in 1995

  1. #1Michael41,409
  2. #2Matthew32,882
  3. #3Christopher32,679
  4. #4Jacob31,134
  5. #5Joshua30,720
  6. #6Tyler29,161
  7. #7Nicholas29,160
  8. #8Brandon26,904
  9. #9Daniel26,728
  10. #10Austin25,908
  11. #987Ishmael126
More about 1995

boys

1,903,701 boys got a published name in 1995; 1 in 15,109 of them was named Ishmael, which outranked 90.4% of the 10,330 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.1% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Ishmael
  1. #983Kadeem127
  2. #983Ron127
  3. #983Rusty127
  4. #987Ishmael126
  5. #987Abdul126
  6. #987Branson126
  7. #987Isidro126
  8. #994Damarcus125
  9. #994Eddy125
  10. #994Mateo125

Tied with 6 names at #987; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1994
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,703Tristin#2,307 → #604
  2. ↑ 1,494Raekwon#2,082 → #588
  3. ↑ 1,357Tristian#2,219 → #862
  4. ↑ 1,269Triston#1,795 → #526
  5. ↑ 1,186Rashaan#2,123 → #937
Fallers
  1. ↓ 469Shyheim#817 → #1,286
  2. ↓ 335Ryne#897 → #1,232
  3. ↓ 251Daulton#792 → #1,043
  4. ↓ 247Demetri#886 → #1,133
  5. ↓ 242Jerrell#917 → #1,159

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1995 →