# Ismay (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ismay/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɪzmeɪ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 52 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 52 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 120, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Matronymic surname from a somewhat rare female given name found in the 13ᵗʰ century.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | 5 | 4,754 |
| 1918 | 7 | 4,057 |
| 1920 | 8 | 3,773 |
| 1922 | 8 | 3,820 |
| 1924 | 5 | 5,433 |
| 1925 | 7 | 4,207 |
| 1926 | 5 | 5,208 |
| 1927 | 7 | 4,044 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 6 | 3,218 |
| 2008 | 3 | 5,545 |
| 2009 | 4 | 4,564 |
| 2012 | 3 | 5,876 |
| 2013 | 11 | 2,313 |
| 2014 | 6 | 3,514 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4,736 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |
| 2018 | 8 | 2,901 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,899 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2023 | 3 | 5,687 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,843 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.