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Isaac

Hebrew
"laughter"
Brynn McKeon
By Brynn McKeon
Updated Tue Jul 01 2025

Isaac Origin and Meaning

The name Isaac is a boy's name of Hebrew, Aboriginal origin meaning "laughter".

Isaac has shaved off his biblical beard and leaped into the upper echelon of popular boys' names, outrunning cousin Isaiah. A favorite of the Puritans, Isaac has never dipped below Number 400 on the US list of top boy names.

Isaac evolved from the name Yitzchaq, derived from the Hebrew word tzachaq, meaning "to laugh." In the Old Testament, Isaac was the long-awaited son of the elderly Sarah and 100-year-old Abraham, so old that their news provoked laughter, giving the name its meaning. Isaac is used as a given name among Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

A baby given this name can point to many distinguished namesakes, including Isaacs (and Izaaks) Newton, Walton, Bashevis Singer, Asimov, Stern, Hayes, and Hanson.

Isaac also boasts the cute nicknames of Izzy — now shared, however, with a bevy of Isabellas — and Ike.

# 40 in the US

Isaac Rank in US Top 1000

# 93 on Nameberry

Isaac Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Isaac

20 Names Similar to Isaac

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Isaac.

Famous People Named Isaac

  • Isaac
    Biblical patriarch; son of Abraham and father of Jacob
  • Isaac I Komnenos
    Byzantine emperor
  • Isaac II Angelos
    Byzantine emperor
  • Isaac Newton
    English physicist
  • Isaac Asimov (born Isaak Azimov)
    American novelist
  • Isaac Thompson Carree III
    American gospel singer
  • Isaac Lee Hayes
    Jr., American R&B musician and actor
  • Isaac Shelby
    US politician; 1st and 5th Governor of Kentucky
  • Isaac Stern
    American violinist
  • Isaac Redman
    American football player
  • Isaac Bashevis Singer (born Izaak Zynger)
    Polish,American novelist
  • Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel
    Russian journalist and revolutionary
  • Isaac Brock
    British general and Lieutenant Governor of Canada
  • Isa'ako "Isaac" Sopoaga
    American football player
  • Isaac Edward Slade
    lead singer of American band The Fray
  • Isaac Guillory
    American guitarist
  • (Clarke) Isaac Hanson
    American musician of the band Hanson
  • Isaac Frye
    Member of YouTube channel VenturianTale
  • Jerome Isaac Jones
    American R&B/rapper
  • Isaac Graves
    son of English actor Rupert Graves
  • Isaac Hayden McHale
    son of American actor Joel McHale
  • Isaac Ng
    son of Youtuber Lindy Tsang
  • Isaac Butterfield
    Australian comedian
  • Isaac Elliot Rivera (b. 2010)
    son of Kailyn Marroquin and Jo Rivera of "Teen Mom 2"
  • River Isaac Ruah Olsen
    son of actress Daniela Ruah
  • Isaac (b. 2020)
    son of Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin.

The name Isaac in Pop Culture

  • Isaac Davis
    character in "Manhattan"
  • Isaac Taylor
    character on the show "The Beautiful Life"
  • Isaac
    character in Golden Sun video games
  • Isaac Lahey
    character on the show "Teen Wolf"
  • Isaac
    character in John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars"
  • Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs
    character in "The Wizard Of Oz"
  • Isaac
    false child prophet in "Children of the Corn"
  • Isaac
    Robot character in Science Fiction comedy TV Series "The Orville"
  • Isaac
    main protagonist in game "The Binding of Isaac"
  • Isaac Washington
    character on TV's "The Love Boat"

International Variations of the name Isaac

  • Iosóg
    Irish
  • Isaak
    German
  • Isaak
    Russian
  • Isaak
    Greek
  • Isaco
    Spanish
  • Issac
    Spanish
  • Ysaac
    Spanish
  • Yaach
    Spanish
  • Yssac
    Spanish
  • Itzaak
    Dutch
  • Itzik
    Dutch
  • Izaak
    Czech
  • Izak
    Scandinavian
  • Izák
    Hungarian
  • Izaac
    Czech
  • Aizik
    Russian
  • Eisaak
    Russian
  • Isak
    Russian
  • Isaakios
    Greek
  • Sahak
    Armenian
  • Ishaq
    Arabic
  • Shaqil
    Arabic

The name Isaac in Nameberry Blog Posts