Isaac

Isaac meaning

Isaac is a Christian and international boy's name of Hebrew origin.

Laughter; from tsachaq, to laugh

Also used to mean: he will laugh

Isaac comes from the Hebrew Yitsḥaq (יִצְחָק), built on the verb tsachaq, 'to laugh'. Strong's concordance glosses the name 'laughter', adding 'mockery', while the NAS concordance and Brown-Driver-Briggs read it as 'he laughs'. Genesis plays on the word: Abraham and Sarah both laugh at the promise of a son in their old age, and the laughter is remembered in his name. Isaac is the second of the patriarchs of Israel, the only son of Abraham and Sarah and the father of the twins Esau and Jacob. Name lists usually give 'laughter' or 'he will laugh', both close to the Hebrew. In India the name is used mainly in Christian families.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H3327 · entry Yitschaq · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's Hebrew 3327, Yitschaq (with NAS and Brown-Driver-Briggs) · Britannica, Isaac

Famous namesakes

• Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis
• Isaac Newton, the English physicist and mathematician

Popularity abroad

• #47 United States, boys 2025 (down 6 from 41 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #36 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Isaac · Issac · Isaak

Related names

Also meaning joy

Also starting with Isa-

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