How common is the surname Issa?

4,088 people in the United States had the surname Issa in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 75,525 Americans. It ranked 8,110th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Issa?

Darrell Issa, American politician, inventor and entrepreneur, followed by Nourman Issa.

Where is the surname Issa most common?

Wikidata records people named Issa in the United States and Palestine.

Is the surname Issa getting more or less common?

More common. 2,576 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,088 in 2010, up 59%.

Is Issa also a first name?

Yes. Issa 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.

The surname Issa

An Arabic surname, carried by 4,088 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex I200 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Issa is more common than 95% of them.

Origin

Arabic origin

From Arabic عيسى (“Jesus”).

One of 179 Arabic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,088 people named Issa in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 75,525 Americans. That is up 59% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,576.

#8,110

rank among US surnames

4,088

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+58.7%

change since 2000 (was #11,265)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#8,102	Kania	4,092	75,451
#8,103	June	4,091	75,469
#8,106	Llanos	4,089	75,506
#8,110	Dunson	4,088	75,525
#8,113	Deans	4,087	75,543
#8,114	Rosenblum	4,086	75,562

Who is named Issa

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

70% of people named Issa identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 5.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 70%
Black (not Hispanic) 15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 5.7%
Two or more races 5.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Issas

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Darrell Issa
American politician, inventor and entrepreneur, born 1953
Nourman Issa
Arab-Israeli actor of Palestinian Christian descent, born 1967

Notable Issas come mostly from the United States (1) and Palestine (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Issa

Issa has the Soundex code I200, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code I200.

Other Arabic surnames

All 179 Arabic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Issa come from?: From Arabic عيسى (“Jesus”).
How common is the surname Issa?: 4,088 people in the United States had the surname Issa in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 75,525 Americans. It ranked 8,110th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Issa?: In the 2010 Census, 70% of people named Issa identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Issa?: Darrell Issa, American politician, inventor and entrepreneur, followed by Nourman Issa.
Where is the surname Issa most common?: Wikidata records people named Issa in the United States and Palestine.
Is the surname Issa getting more or less common?: More common. 2,576 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,088 in 2010, up 59%.
Is Issa also a first name?: Yes. Issa 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.