Popularity of the name Isaac, 1880–2025
Isaac was at its most popular in 2013, when 10,134 boys were given the name: about 1 in 190 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #28. In 2025, 5,953 boys were named Isaac, ranking #47. In all, Social Security counts 331,508 boys named Isaac since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 784 girls named Isaac.
- Peak year
- 2013
- Rank in 2013
- #28
- Babies in 2013
- 10,134
- Rank in 2025
- #47
- Total since 1880
- 331,508
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #31 in 2015 to #47 in 2025: 9,988 boys got it in 2015, and 5,953 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 2010s, when 94,574 boys were named Isaac, #31 for the decade. It ranked #75 in the 1880s and #42 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 274 in 1880 (#62), 198 in 1900 (#116), 706 in 1920 (#190), 486 in 1940 (#246), 467 in 1960 (#365), 1,798 in 1980 (#150), 7,439 in 2000 (#53) and 7,155 in 2020 (#39).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 10,274, in 2007. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 2007 than for 2013, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank, #28, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Isaac, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 274 | #62 |
| 1881 | 258 | #64 |
| 1882 | 278 | #65 |
| 1883 | 227 | #70 |
| 1884 | 243 | #75 |
| 1885 | 204 | #79 |
| 1886 | 224 | #78 |
| 1887 | 194 | #83 |
| 1888 | 221 | #85 |
| 1889 | 188 | #91 |
| 1890 | 187 | #92 |
| 1891 | 160 | #101 |
| 1892 | 203 | #94 |
| 1893 | 182 | #97 |
| 1894 | 170 | #105 |
| 1895 | 172 | #107 |
| 1896 | 191 | #100 |
| 1897 | 175 | #101 |
| 1898 | 156 | #117 |
| 1899 | 139 | #119 |
| 1900 | 198 | #116 |
| 1901 | 133 | #124 |
| 1902 | 143 | #135 |
| 1903 | 138 | #135 |
| 1904 | 167 | #126 |
| 1905 | 147 | #144 |
| 1906 | 163 | #128 |
| 1907 | 178 | #133 |
| 1908 | 162 | #145 |
| 1909 | 209 | #128 |
| 1910 | 252 | #130 |
| 1911 | 233 | #143 |
| 1912 | 359 | #162 |
| 1913 | 398 | #172 |
| 1914 | 496 | #177 |
| 1915 | 568 | #195 |
| 1916 | 629 | #186 |
| 1917 | 622 | #192 |
| 1918 | 658 | #194 |
| 1919 | 737 | #178 |
| 1920 | 706 | #190 |
| 1921 | 648 | #208 |
| 1922 | 720 | #190 |
| 1923 | 698 | #197 |
| 1924 | 704 | #199 |
| 1925 | 678 | #206 |
| 1926 | 586 | #228 |
| 1927 | 693 | #203 |
| 1928 | 534 | #241 |
| 1929 | 585 | #218 |
| 1930 | 548 | #230 |
| 1931 | 443 | #256 |
| 1932 | 492 | #240 |
| 1933 | 480 | #237 |
| 1934 | 481 | #237 |
| 1935 | 476 | #241 |
| 1936 | 423 | #261 |
| 1937 | 447 | #255 |
| 1938 | 460 | #253 |
| 1939 | 465 | #248 |
| 1940 | 486 | #246 |
| 1941 | 451 | #265 |
| 1942 | 450 | #283 |
| 1943 | 481 | #279 |
| 1944 | 491 | #269 |
| 1945 | 460 | #281 |
| 1946 | 514 | #285 |
| 1947 | 599 | #280 |
| 1948 | 533 | #298 |
| 1949 | 599 | #270 |
| 1950 | 557 | #282 |
| 1951 | 554 | #292 |
| 1952 | 564 | #294 |
| 1953 | 548 | #301 |
| 1954 | 585 | #295 |
| 1955 | 545 | #314 |
| 1956 | 552 | #317 |
| 1957 | 521 | #334 |
| 1958 | 540 | #332 |
| 1959 | 513 | #342 |
| 1960 | 467 | #365 |
| 1961 | 494 | #357 |
| 1962 | 482 | #363 |
| 1963 | 472 | #359 |
| 1964 | 496 | #352 |
| 1965 | 428 | #375 |
| 1966 | 430 | #362 |
| 1967 | 395 | #377 |
| 1968 | 427 | #375 |
| 1969 | 514 | #349 |
| 1970 | 569 | #332 |
| 1971 | 712 | #288 |
| 1972 | 806 | #251 |
| 1973 | 896 | #235 |
| 1974 | 941 | #223 |
| 1975 | 1,014 | #213 |
| 1976 | 1,093 | #202 |
| 1977 | 1,264 | #184 |
| 1978 | 1,451 | #167 |
| 1979 | 1,734 | #151 |
| 1980 | 1,798 | #150 |
| 1981 | 1,836 | #150 |
| 1982 | 1,841 | #151 |
| 1983 | 1,796 | #151 |
| 1984 | 1,692 | #160 |
| 1985 | 1,673 | #165 |
| 1986 | 1,736 | #155 |
| 1987 | 1,828 | #151 |
| 1988 | 1,964 | #143 |
| 1989 | 2,210 | #137 |
| 1990 | 2,429 | #132 |
| 1991 | 2,500 | #130 |
| 1992 | 2,773 | #123 |
| 1993 | 3,214 | #110 |
| 1994 | 3,496 | #103 |
| 1995 | 3,881 | #98 |
| 1996 | 4,566 | #86 |
| 1997 | 5,146 | #73 |
| 1998 | 5,859 | #65 |
| 1999 | 6,407 | #64 |
| 2000 | 7,439 | #53 |
| 2001 | 8,200 | #47 |
| 2002 | 8,312 | #48 |
| 2003 | 8,944 | #48 |
| 2004 | 9,181 | #46 |
| 2005 | 9,127 | #49 |
| 2006 | 9,685 | #48 |
| 2007 | 10,274 | #41 |
| 2008 | 10,030 | #37 |
| 2009 | 9,569 | #40 |
| 2010 | 9,371 | #39 |
| 2011 | 9,607 | #35 |
| 2012 | 10,065 | #30 |
| 2013 | 10,134 | #28 |
| 2014 | 9,999 | #31 |
| 2015 | 9,988 | #31 |
| 2016 | 9,782 | #31 |
| 2017 | 8,894 | #32 |
| 2018 | 8,503 | #34 |
| 2019 | 8,231 | #34 |
| 2020 | 7,155 | #39 |
| 2021 | 6,987 | #40 |
| 2022 | 6,752 | #41 |
| 2023 | 6,621 | #42 |
| 2024 | 6,529 | #41 |
| 2025 | 5,953 | #47 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.