Fun Facts About the Name Yisroel
- More than 6 thousand babies named Yisroel: U.S. records list 6,806 babies given the name Yisroel from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yisroel Mean?
Yisroel is a Hebrew name meaning "God contends" - one who strives or struggles with God. It is the Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish form of Yisraʾel (יִשְׂרָאֵל), the name given to the patriarch Jacob in the book of Genesis.
The Hebrew name is usually divided into two elements: a verb from the root ś-r-h, "to strive, contend," and ʾEl, the Hebrew word for God. Genesis 32:28 gives the traditional explanation, tying the name to Jacob's night struggle: "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Because the first root is not entirely certain, some scholars instead link it to śar, "prince" or "ruler," and read the name as "God rules" or "El is prince." The older popular gloss "prince with God" comes from that second reading. The precise derivation of the first element is disputed, but the ʾEl component, meaning God, is not.
Yisroel Name History & Origins
The Hebrew Yisraʾel appears in the Torah as the second name of Jacob and then as the collective name of the people descended from him, the Israelites. Outside the Bible, the earliest known mention of the name is on the Merneptah Stele, an Egyptian inscription from about 1208 BCE, which refers to "Israel" as a people in Canaan.
Yisroel as a distinct spelling and pronunciation belongs to Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Ashkenazi reading of the biblical Hebrew shifted the vowels - the tsere under the alef becoming "ei" or "oy," and the qamatz becoming "o" - so that Yisraʾel was pronounced and written Yisroel. From Yiddish it passed into everyday use as a personal name, often given in memory of a relative, and shortened forms such as Sroel and Srul developed alongside it. The name Yisroel Meir, borne by the rabbi known as the Chofetz Chaim, is one documented example of the traditional pairing of Yisroel with a second Hebrew name.
The same biblical name underlies the Modern Hebrew Yisrael, the English Israel, and the name taken by the State of Israel in 1948, though the national name is a separate development from the personal one. In American Jewish communities, Yisroel is used mainly in religious and traditionally observant circles, while Yisrael and Israel are the more common forms elsewhere.
How Popular is the Name Yisroel?
Yisroel recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #826 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 | #826 | 300 | 0.0176% |
| 2024 | #950 | 240 | 0.0140% |
| 2023 | #959 | 236 | 0.0138% |
| 2022 | #944 | 242 | 0.0139% |
| 2021 | #942 | 241 | 0.0138% |
| 2020 | #1,032 | 199 | 0.0115% |
| 2019 | #879 | 251 | 0.0140% |
| 2018 | #1,050 | 194 | 0.0107% |
| 2017 | #986 | 208 | 0.0112% |
| 2016 | #957 | 216 | 0.0114% |
| 2015 | #975 | 213 | 0.0111% |
| 2014 | #1,026 | 198 | 0.0103% |
| 2013 | #1,003 | 196 | 0.0104% |
| 2012 | #1,022 | 192 | 0.0101% |
| 2011 | #1,004 | 194 | 0.0102% |
| 2010 | #1,011 | 194 | 0.0101% |
| 2009 | #1,035 | 186 | 0.0094% |
| 2008 | #1,110 | 166 | 0.0081% |
| 2007 | #1,037 | 182 | 0.0088% |
| 2006 | #1,161 | 146 | 0.0071% |
| 2005 | #1,009 | 169 | 0.0085% |
| 2004 | #1,150 | 137 | 0.0069% |
| 2003 | #1,075 | 145 | 0.0073% |
| 2002 | #1,356 | 98 | 0.0050% |
| 2001 | #1,378 | 93 | 0.0048% |
| 2000 | #1,207 | 113 | 0.0058% |
| 1999 | #1,248 | 100 | 0.0052% |
| 1998 | #1,187 | 105 | 0.0055% |
| 1997 | #1,150 | 108 | 0.0057% |
| 1996 | #1,140 | 105 | 0.0055% |
| 1995 | #1,352 | 77 | 0.0040% |
| 1994 | #1,321 | 79 | 0.0041% |
| 1993 | #1,277 | 80 | 0.0041% |
| 1992 | #1,220 | 86 | 0.0043% |
| 1991 | #1,146 | 93 | 0.0046% |
| 1990 | #1,187 | 85 | 0.0041% |
| 1989 | #1,172 | 83 | 0.0041% |
| 1988 | #1,285 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 1987 | #1,336 | 56 | 0.0030% |
| 1986 | #1,361 | 53 | 0.0029% |
| 1985 | #1,484 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 1984 | #1,067 | 71 | 0.0039% |
| 1983 | #1,094 | 67 | 0.0037% |
| 1982 | #1,309 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 1981 | #1,547 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 1980 | #1,524 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 1979 | #1,596 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 1978 | #1,435 | 43 | 0.0026% |
| 1977 | #1,209 | 54 | 0.0033% |
| 1976 | #1,676 | 32 | 0.0020% |
| 1975 | #1,999 | 24 | 0.0015% |
| 1974 | #3,557 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #2,404 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1972 | #2,322 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1971 | #2,557 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #2,737 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1969 | #3,058 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #2,309 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1967 | #3,225 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #3,941 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,925 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,044 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1963 | #4,045 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #2,897 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1960 | #3,663 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #2,658 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1955 | #3,883 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #4,252 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #4,190 | 5 | 0.0003% |
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 Yisroel 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.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Yisroel's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yisroel's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.