How Many People Are Named Ishmael?
An estimated 5,607 people in the United States have the first name Ishmael. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 27 years old, and Ishmael peaked in popularity in 2017 with 158 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ishmael as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ishmael paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
5,607
About 1 in 61,130 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
27
years old
Peak Year
2017
158 births
Total Registered
6,671
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ishmael
Ishmael is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 6,671 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Ishmael as a male name
Ranked #1,498 in 2024
119 male births in 2024
Peak: 2017 (158 births)
Ishmael: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ishmael span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 1,355 babies were registered. While Ishmael is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Ishmael by Decade
How has Ishmael tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Ishmael by State
Birth registrations for Ishmael span all 25 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Florida. The lowest are in West Virginia, Alabama, Indiana. On average, about 134 Ishmaels were registered per state.
Ishmael + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ishmael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ishmael
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
Ishmael: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ishmael?
We estimate approximately 5,607 people named Ishmael are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 61,130 Americans share this first name.
Is Ishmael a common name?
Ishmael is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 6,671 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ishmael most popular?
Ishmael reached peak popularity in 2017, when 158 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ishmael is approximately 27 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ishmael a male name?
Ishmael is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ishmael Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ishmael Smith, Ishmael Johnson, Ishmael Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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