Isak vs Samuel
Isak and Samuelcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Isak was ranked #6 and Samuel #75 among boys in Norway.
England and Wales · Boys
In 2024, Isak was ranked #1517 and Samuel #60 among boys in England and Wales.
Isak and Samuel over time
Isak and Samuel appear together in 2 published lists, across 88 years of shared records. Neither was ahead in more lists than the other.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Samuel reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 2 of those lists, and Isak in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Isak and Samuel changed places 12 times in Norway · Boys between 1946 and 2025, ending at #6 and #75.
- Longest-running competitions
Isak and Samuel were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 63 years, from 1946 to 2025, ending at #6 and #75.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Norway · Boys within 2 years — Isak #4 in 2021, Samuel #44 in 2019.
List by list
Norway · Boys63 shared years, 1946–2025
Isak held the stronger position in 42 of those years, Samuel in 21.
Highest recorded here: Isak #4 in 2021, Samuel #44 in 2019.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Isak #6, Samuel #75.
England and Wales · Boys25 shared years, 1998–2024
Isak held the stronger position in 0 of those years, Samuel in 25.
Highest recorded here: Isak #1440 in 2007, Samuel #7 in 1998.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Isak #1517, Samuel #60.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Isak | Samuel |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Traditionally rendered as 'name of God', though also popularly interpreted as 'God has heard' — sources differ on which root is emphasised. |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Samouel |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | /ˈsæmjuːəl/ |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, NO | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #6 (2025) | New South Wales, Australia · Boys #38 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 88/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 60/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Samuel has a recorded origin (Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Samouel); Isak does not have one recorded yet.
- Isak and Samuel both have 2 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Samuel; Isak doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, NO.
How each name got here
Isak
Popularity journey
First recorded1946
First recorded at #282 among boys in Norway in 1946 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1946–2025
Highest recorded position: #4 among boys in Norway, in 2021 (recorded 1946–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #6 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Samuel
Popularity journey
First recorded1946
First recorded at #339 among boys in Norway in 1946 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1967–2023
Highest recorded position: #3 among boys in New Zealand, in 1998 (recorded 1967–2023).
New Zealand · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #38 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, in 2025.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys