Given name · Ottoman Turkish · Persian · Urdu
اسماعیل
“God will listen”
اسماعیل (ismâʿîl) is a masculine given name from Arabic, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Urdu, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish.
Ottoman Turkish and Persian and UrduWritten in Arabic script, read right to left. In English: Ishmael.
Meaning & origin
What it means
اسماعیل is Ismā'īl written in Arabic script. Ismā'īl is a form of Ishmael. One Hebrew interpretation is “God will listen.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
اسماعیل comes from Arabic, and ultimately from Biblical Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Arabic إِسْمَاعِيل, from Biblical Hebrew יִשְׁמָעֵאל (yišmāʿēl).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
اسماعیل’s family of names
In Persian usage, اسماعیل has a conventional equivalent in the English form Ishmael.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named اسماعیل
- Esmaeil KhatibIranian cleric1961–2026
- Esmail Ahmadi-MoghaddamIranian military officerborn 1961
- Esmail Baghaeiiranian diplomat
- Esmaeil EbadiIranian archerborn 1976
- Esmaeil SharifatIranian footballerborn 1988
- Esmail DavarfarIranian actor1933–2008
- Esmaeil KousariIranian politicianborn 1955
- Esmaeil JabbarzadehIranian governor1960–2022
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love اسماعیل, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Aarón
“enlightener”
>99% boys
Ahasbai
“i flee to the Lord” · “or let me hide”
—
Gemalli
“pertaining to the camel” · “pertaining to investing”
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Noè
Noè is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Italian.
>99% boys
Benjamina
“child of my right hand” · “son of the right hand”
95% boys · 5% girls
Jorkeam
“green people” · “grasslike folks”
>99% boys
Rehoboam
“the people are enlarged” · “people of width”
>99% boys
Shelesh
“triad” · “third”
>99% boys