Given name
Ysmael
“God will listen”
Ysmael is a form of Ishmael. One Hebrew interpretation is “God will listen.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Ysmael carries the interpretation “God will listen.” Ysmael is a form of Ishmael. One Hebrew interpretation is “God will listen.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Ysmael is used as a form of Ishmael.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1918. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Ysmael is a form of Ishmael. The history of Ishmael gives this family its wider story. In biblical tradition, Ishmael is the name of Abraham’s first son.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Ysmael through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 202
- 202 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1930
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,955 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,955 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 438 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.
Ysmael’s family of names
Ysmael is a form of Ishmael. Ysmael has a related form in Yishmael. Ysmael has a related form in Yismael.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Ysmael, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gomer
“complete” · “of the good fight”
>99% boys
El
“much debated but ultimately unclear”
87% boys · 13% girls
Dan
“he judged”
97% boys · 3% girls
Avrom
“father of a multitude (of nations)” · “father of a multitude; father of nations”
>99% boys
Heth
“terror” · “dread”
90% boys · 10% girls
Deuel
“invocation of God”
>99% boys
מייק
“who” · “like”
>99% boys
سموأل
سموأل (samawʔal) is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew, ultimately from English. It is used in Arabic.
>99% boys