Given name & surname
Ishaq
“a laughing child”
Ishaq is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a laughing child.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a laughing child.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1977. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ishaq through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 708
- 708 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 45 babies
- 2025
- 45
- #2,814 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +22%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 45 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,814 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 665 as a first name in 2020; 1,001 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ishaq’s family of names
Ishaq has a conventional equivalent in the German form Isaak. Ishaq has a related form in Ishak. Ishaq has a related form in Ishac.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ishaq
- Ishaq ibn Rahwayhmuhaddith and Hafiz (0778-0853)
- Ishaq ibn AliAlmoravid Emir (ruled 1147; died 1147)1110–1147
- Ishaq al-MawsiliArab musician of Persian origin (767/772 – 850)743–804
- Ishaq DarDeputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistanborn 1950
- Ishaq ibn Muslim al-Uqayli8th-century Umayyad general and governor
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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