Fun Facts About the Name Yishai
- 445 babies named Yishai: U.S. records list 445 babies given the name Yishai from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yishai Mean?
Yishai (Hebrew יִשַׁי) is the Hebrew name of the father of King David, the name that appears as Jesse in English Bibles. Its etymology is not settled. The name is frequently linked to a Hebrew root connected with "gift," and a traditional Jewish reading plays on its letters as yesh shai, "there is a gift," applying the phrase to David. That reading is a customary interpretation rather than a demonstrated derivation. Because the biblical text does not explain the name and closely related forms are sparse, no single origin is universally accepted; some reference works suggest it may be a shortened theophoric (God-containing) name, but this remains a proposal rather than an established fact.
Yishai Name History & Origins
In the Hebrew Bible, Yishai is an Ephrathite of Bethlehem, the son of Obed and the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. He is the father of several sons, the youngest of whom was David, and the prophet Samuel anoints David at Bethlehem while his father looks on (1 Samuel 16 - 17; Ruth 4:17 - 22; 1 Chronicles 2). As David's father, Yishai holds a fixed place in the genealogies of the Hebrew Scriptures, and the line is later taken up as a messianic image in Isaiah 11:1, which speaks of a shoot growing from the stump of Jesse.
The name entered Greek as Ἰεσσαί in the Septuagint and the New Testament, where it stands in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5 - 6; Luke 3:32), and Latin as Isai and Jesse. English Bibles use Jesse, the form that also became an ordinary English given name. Yishai is a transliteration of the Hebrew original, revived as a given name in modern Hebrew and used today in Israel and in English-speaking Jewish communities, sometimes spelled Yishay.
How Popular is the Name Yishai?
Yishai has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #3,579 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,579 | 32 | 0.0019% |
| 2024 | #6,154 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #4,336 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2022 | #4,561 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2021 | #4,931 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #4,416 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2019 | #6,756 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #4,602 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2017 | #7,082 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #6,043 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #5,285 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #10,675 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #6,230 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #6,289 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #6,989 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #5,471 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2009 | #5,094 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2008 | #5,058 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 2007 | #5,427 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #6,897 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #6,207 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #7,517 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #6,703 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #6,515 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #6,919 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #5,906 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #9,882 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #8,456 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #9,240 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #10,506 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #9,465 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yishai Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Yishai's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yishai's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.