Fun Facts About the Name Yitzchak
- More than 1 thousand babies named Yitzchak: U.S. records list 1,453 babies given the name Yitzchak from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yitzchak Mean?
Yitzchak is the Hebrew form of the name known in English as Isaac. It comes from the Hebrew root צחק (tsachak), "to laugh," and in its biblical vocalization יִצְחָק it is commonly explained as "he will laugh" or "he laughs." The literal sense is tied to laughter rather than to a separate symbolic meaning.
The Book of Genesis connects the name directly to laughter: Abraham laughs when told he will father a son in his old age (Genesis 17:17), and Sarah laughs at the same news (Genesis 18:12) before saying, "God has made laughter for me" (Genesis 21:6). This wordplay may be a folk explanation built around the name rather than its oldest sense. Some scholars have proposed that the name was originally a shortened form invoking God's favor, roughly "may God laugh" or "God has shown favor," but this remains a suggestion rather than a settled derivation.
Yitzchak Name History & Origins
Yitzchak is the name of the second biblical patriarch, the son of Abraham and Sarah and the father of Jacob and Esau. He appears chiefly in the Book of Genesis, where his near-sacrifice on Mount Moriah and his place in the family line of Israel are recounted. Because of that role, the name has been carried continuously in Jewish use, appearing in rabbinic literature and liturgy, where he is named as one of the three patriarchs alongside Abraham and Jacob.
The European forms of the name descend from the Hebrew through the Greek Septuagint rendering Ἰσαάκ (Isaak) and the Latin Isaac, which passed into Christian scripture and the languages of Europe. The Hebrew Yitzchak itself was preserved in Jewish communities and gave rise to Yiddish forms such as Yitskhok, along with the diminutive Itzik. With the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Yitzchak returned to everyday use in Israel; transliterations into English vary between Yitzchak and Yitzhak.
How Popular is the Name Yitzchak?
Yitzchak 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 2022. Its best rank was #2,351 in 2022.
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 | #2,514 | 54 | 0.0032% |
| 2024 | #2,516 | 54 | 0.0031% |
| 2023 | #2,506 | 54 | 0.0032% |
| 2022 | #2,351 | 61 | 0.0035% |
| 2021 | #2,860 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2020 | #2,582 | 50 | 0.0029% |
| 2019 | #2,762 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 2018 | #2,844 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 2017 | #3,374 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2016 | #2,780 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 2015 | #3,225 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2014 | #2,750 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 2013 | #3,958 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2012 | #2,953 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2011 | #2,745 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 2010 | #2,727 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2009 | #2,524 | 51 | 0.0026% |
| 2008 | #4,532 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2007 | #3,249 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #3,217 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 2005 | #3,089 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 2004 | #2,882 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2003 | #4,111 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2002 | #3,017 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2001 | #3,316 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2000 | #2,732 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1999 | #3,276 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1998 | #3,016 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1997 | #3,451 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1996 | #3,291 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1995 | #3,847 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1994 | #4,287 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1993 | #3,816 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1992 | #2,745 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1991 | #3,222 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1990 | #3,461 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1989 | #3,091 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1988 | #3,076 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1987 | #3,069 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #3,265 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #5,775 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #2,823 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1983 | #4,901 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #3,687 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #3,854 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #2,616 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1979 | #4,399 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #3,211 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1977 | #5,117 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,412 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #5,452 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #5,216 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #3,591 | 8 | 0.0004% |
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 Yitzchak 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.
✦ Yitzchak's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yitzchak's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.