Origin: |
Isaac is the Biblical Latin form of the Hebrew name Yitzhaq meaning "he laughs," derived from the Hebrew verb צָחַק (tsachaq) "to laugh." As it so often does, the Old Testament has an explanation for the meaning behind the name. According to the Book of Genesis, God instructed Abraham to name his son Isaac because both he and his wife Sarah had laughed when they heard that they were to have a son -- something that was thought impossible due to Sarah's age. However, some scholars point out that Yitzhaq is most likely an abbreviation of the Canaanite theophorus name Yitzhakel meaning "may El (God) smile, may El laugh."* This is supported by Ugaritic texts from the 13th century BCE which refer to the benevolent smile of the Canaanite god El.* Isaac was the father of Esau and Jacob and one of the three patriarchs of Israel who was the longest living. Isaac is unique among the patriarchs for having stayed in Canaan and remaining faithful to his wife, never taking any other wives or concubines. |
Usage: |
Isaac appears twice in the Doomsday Book of 1086, and is found in occasional use in the following centuries, not solely confined to Jewish communities. As Reaney and Wilson point out, the surnames Isaac, Isaacs, Isacke and Isaacson were formed in the medieval period and are not Jewish in origin.* The second half of the 16th century saw a whole raft of Old Testament names come into fashion, including Abraham, Nathaniel and Benjamin. It is at this time that Isaac became much more regularly used, as we can see from Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was in the vanguard of this rise in usage, and his fame may possibly have been a contributor to the name's continued rise. According to Leslie Dunklings rankings for England and Wales, Isaac had risen to #20 in 1700 and #14 in 1800. The name was well used across the 19th century, but gradually began to decline over the course of the century, as Old Testament names fell out of fashion, replaced by medieval Norman, Celtic and nature names. Isaac was in the top 100 England and Wales throughout the 19th century, but had dropped out in the turn of the 20th century: 1850: #26 Isaac remained outside of the top 100 through the whole of the 20th century, and even became rather rare and outdated by the mid-century, as Leslie Dunkling's sample for boys named Isaac in every 10,000 births show:
The name did begin to rise again gradually by the end of the century, and was on an upward curve when it ranked #104 (480 births) in 1996 in England and Wales. This curve has continued ever since and only two years later, in 1998. Isaac re-entered the top 100 at #84 (666 births). In 2007, Isaac ranked #42 (1762 births) and was #30 (2682 births) in 2012. In 2015, Isaac ranked #20 in England and Wales with 2829 births. Isaac ranked #54 (122 births) in Scotland and #25 (89 births) in Northern Ireland in 2016. |
Famous Bearers: |
History: * Isaac of Antioch, 5th century Christian writer. Contemporary: * Isaac Hayes (1942–2008), American singer-songwriter, voice actor, and producer. Literature and Other Media: * Sir Isaac Newton, a character (newt) in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1906). |
Variants: |
Issac (English), Isaak (German), Isak (Scandinavian) Itzhak, Yitzhak (Hebrew) Izaak (Polish) |
Pronunciation: |
Ī-zək [key] |
Possible diminutives: |
Ike, Zak, Zye |
Sibling Names: |
Eden Lucy Phoebe Grace Lydia Eliza |
Name Lists: |
If you like Isaac you may also like: |
Thanks to Imogen for requesting Isaac.