Given name
Yishai
“a gift from God”
Yishai is a variant of Yehonadov. One Hebrew interpretation is “a gift from God.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Yishai is a variant of Yehonadov. One Hebrew interpretation is “a gift from God.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Yishai is a variant of Yehonadov. An origin associated with Yehonadov is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1990. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yishai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 445
- 445 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 32 babies
- 2025
- 32
- #3,579 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +35%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 32 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,579 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 35.3% 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 (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 298 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Yishai’s family of names
Yishai has a related form in Yehonadov.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Yishai
- Yishai SaridIsraeli writer and lawyerborn 1965
- Yshai OlielIsraeli tennis playerborn 2000
- Yishai BeerIsraeli generalborn 1956
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Yishai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.