The surname Isaac
A Latin patronymic surname, carried by 18,903 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈaɪzək/ 2 syllables Soundex I220 Also a first name
Origin
Latin origin
From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”). Explained in Genesis as referring to his mother Sarah’s laughing when she was told she would have a son at her old age. The verb is masculine, however, perhaps due to its use as a boy’s name.
Isaac is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 18,903 people named Isaac in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,333 Americans. That is up 16% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,312.
Who is named Isaac
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
40% of people named Isaac identified as white (not Hispanic), 40% as Black (not Hispanic) and 9.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 40%
- Black (not Hispanic) 40%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 9.5%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 4.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 2.9%
- Two or more races 2.6%
Famous Isaacs
3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Jonathan IsaacAmerican basketball player (born 1997)
- James IsaacAmerican film director (1960–2012)
- Bobby IsaacAmerican racecar driver (1932-1977)
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Isaac has the Soundex code I220, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code I220.
Other Latin surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Isaac come from?
- From Middle English Ysaac, from Latin Isaac, from Ancient Greek Ἰσαάκ (Isaák), from Hebrew יצחק (Yiṣḥāq, literally “he laughs, he will laugh”). Explained in Genesis as referring to his mother Sarah’s laughing when she was told she would have a son at her old age. The verb is masculine, however,…
- How common is the surname Isaac?
- 18,903 people in the United States had the surname Isaac in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,333 Americans. It ranked 1,898th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Isaac?
- In the 2010 Census, 40% of people named Isaac identified as white (not Hispanic), and 40% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Isaac?
- Jonathan Isaac, American basketball player (born 1997), followed by James Isaac.
- Where is the surname Isaac most common?
- Wikidata records people named Isaac in the United States.
- How do you pronounce Isaac?
- Isaac is /ˈaɪzək/, 2 syllables.
- What type of surname is Isaac?
- Isaac is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
- Is the surname Isaac getting more or less common?
- More common. 16,312 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,903 in 2010, up 16%.
- Is Isaac also a first name?
- Yes. Isaac is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.