The surname Israel
A Latin surname, carried by 10,245 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈɪz.ɹeɪl/ 3 syllables Soundex I264 Also a first name
Origin
Latin origin
From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in Genesis 32:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)). Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr. : i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2 Doublet of Yisroel.
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 10,245 people named Israel in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 30,136 Americans. That is up 9.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,401.
Who is named Israel
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
70% of people named Israel identified as white (not Hispanic), 20% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 70%
- Black (not Hispanic) 20%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 3.1%
- Two or more races 1.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Famous Israels
4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Lee IsraelAmerican author and forger (1939-2014)
- Neal IsraelAmerican director, producer and writer, born 1945
- Rubén IsraelAssociation football coach, 1955–2021
- Mel AllenAmerican sports announcer (1913–1996)
Notable Israels come mostly from the United States (3) and Uruguay (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Variant spellings
- Isreal
- Yisrael
- Israhel
Surnames that sound like Israel
Israel has the Soundex code I264, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code I264.
Other Latin surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Israel come from?
- From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in Genesis 32:29, after which his descendants came to be…
- How common is the surname Israel?
- 10,245 people in the United States had the surname Israel in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,136 Americans. It ranked 3,488th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Israel?
- In the 2010 Census, 70% of people named Israel identified as white (not Hispanic), and 20% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Israel?
- Lee Israel, American author and forger (1939-2014), followed by Neal Israel.
- Where is the surname Israel most common?
- Wikidata records people named Israel in the United States and Uruguay.
- How do you pronounce Israel?
- Israel is /ˈɪz.ɹeɪl/, 3 syllables.
- Is the surname Israel getting more or less common?
- More common. 9,401 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,245 in 2010, up 9.0%.
- What are other spellings of Israel?
- Isreal, Yisrael and Israhel.
- Is Israel also a first name?
- Yes. Israel 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.