Ishmael
About Ishmael
Ishmael is most familiar through "Call me Ishmael," the opening line spoken by the youthful narrator of Moby-Dick. Few American parents have followed that advice, though the Spanish and Arabic spelling, Ismael, ranks at Number 362. With its warm and pleasant sound, though, we could see Ishmael tagging along behind Isaiah and Isaac.
In the Bible, Ishmael was Abraham's first son by the Egyptian maidservant Hagar, who was told by God to name him Ishmael. In Islamic tradition, Ishmael (or Ismail) is believed to have been the ancestor of the Arabs.
Ishmael Bush is one of the main characters in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Prairie, and there is an Ismael in the Lemony Snicket book, The End. Some notable real-life bearers are novelist and poet Ishmael Reed and Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant.
Pronounced ISH-may-ul.
As of October 2026, Ishmael ranked #1469 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #789 in 1912.
Editor's take: The name Ishmael is a boy's name of Hebrew, Spanish origin meaning "God will hear".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,267 | 141 | 73.4 |
| 2015 | #1,225 | 150 | 78.3 |
| 2016 | #1,352 | 132 | 69.6 |
| 2017 | #1,183 | 158 | 85.4 |
| 2018 | #1,311 | 139 | 76.5 |
| 2019 | #1,299 | 143 | 79.7 |
| 2020 | #1,272 | 144 | 83.4 |
| 2021 | #1,311 | 143 | 81.7 |
| 2022 | #1,733 | 97 | 55.6 |
| 2023 | #1,491 | 120 | 70.2 |
| 2024 | #1,498 | 119 | 69.1 |
| 2025 | #1,469 | 121 | 70.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Ishmael on lists
Famous Ishmaels
- Ishmael
son of Abraham; half brother of Isaac
- Ishmael
son of Azel, descendant of King Saul's son, Jonathan ( 1 Chr. 8:38)
- Ishmael
father of Zebadiah the ruler of the house of Judah (2 Chr. 19:11)
- Ishmael
son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, Judean royalty and captain (2 Kings 25:23, 25)
- Ishmael
captain of hundreds, son of Jehohanan (2 Chr. 23:1)
- Ishmael
who took a foreign wife; of the sons of Pashur (Ezra 10:22)
- Ishmael Scott Reed
American poet and novelist
- Ishmael Anthony Miller
British footballer
- Ishmael Houston
Jones, American dancer and choreographer
- Ishmael Bernal
Filipino film director
- Ishmael Beah
Sierra Leonean former child soldier and human rights activist
Ishmael in pop culture
- Ishmael
narrator of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"
- Ishmael
character in film "Kingpin"
- Ishmael
book by Daniel Quinn about a telepathic gorilla named Ishmael
- Ishmael
character in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket