Ishmael

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Ishmael: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Ishmael: Recorded every year since 1996, its highest recorded position is #728, and it stood at #2,263 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#728highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Boys

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#728
1997	#809
1998	#1110
1999	#973
2000	#1241
2001	#1078
2002	#1033
2003	#1771
2004	#938
2005	#1377
2006	#1469
2007	#1756
2008	#1156
2009	#1749
2010	#942
2011	#1251
2012	#1229
2013	#1339
2014	#1935
2015	#1380
2016	#1570
2017	#1247
2018	#1875
2019	#1986
2020	#1635
2021	#1860
2022	#1879
2023	#1799
2024	#2263

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #728 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #728 among boys in England and Wales, in 1996 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2263 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Ishmael by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Ishmael in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	67	4 of 10	17
2000s	142	10 of 10	14
2010sbusiest	178	10 of 10	18
2020s	61	5 of 10	12

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 18 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Ishmael appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #728 in England and Wales in 1996.

Ishmael's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#2263	10	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1799	13	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1879	12	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1860	12	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1635	14	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1986	11	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1875	12	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1247	21	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1570	16	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1380	18	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1935	11	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1339	18	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1229	21	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1251	20	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#942	30	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1749	12	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1156	21	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1756	11	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1469	13	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1377	14	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#938	22	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1771	8	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1033	16	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1078	14	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1241	11	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#973	15	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1110	12	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#809	19	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#728	21	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #728, first reached in 1996.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 30 births, registered in England and Wales in 2010.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
29 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years20 to 29 unbroken years →
1unbroken stretch — never absent from the recordUnbroken since it first appeared →
#2,263position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
30births registered in its largest year, 201025 to 49 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Isher · #2443, 21y
Ishika · #718, 26y
Isiah · #1139, 27y
Isidora · #3262, 12y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Huseyin · #728, 29y
Tre · #728, 27y
Safah · #727, 29y
Ayush · #726, 27y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Huseyin · #728, 29y
Tre · #728, 27y
Aditi · #727, 30y
Afnan · #727, 27y

Ishmael was ranked #728 in England and Wales · Boys in 1996. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Ishmael and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Ishmael without appearing here.

Ishmael moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1799 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2263 and #5119.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #1879 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1799 and #4107.
Grant Compare
In 2019 they stood at #1986 and #1869 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #1635 and #3334.
Keith Compare
In 2019 they stood at #1986 and #1869 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #1635 and #3334.

Moved ahead of Ishmael

Magnus Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1033 and #1077 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #1771 and #813.
Hunter Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1469 and #1643 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1756 and #926.
Filip Compare
In 2004 they stood at #938 and #1160 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1377 and #615.
Braxton Compare
In 2011 they stood at #1251 and #1398 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #1229 and #569.

Moved the opposite way to Ishmael

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 while Albie went from #853 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 while Alfie went from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 while Alfred went from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 while Archie went from #192 to #10.

Moved the same way as Ishmael

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 and Aaron from #33 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 and Adam from #16 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 and Alan from #163 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Ishmael went from #728 to #2263 and Alex from #43 to #171.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #728 in England and Wales in 1996. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ishmael

Ishmael at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ishmael by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ishmael appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Ishmael

Ishmael and the names beside it

Ishmael moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ishmael

Moved the opposite way to Ishmael

Moved the same way as Ishmael

Ishmael at a glance

Ishmael by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ishmael appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Ishmael

Ishmael and the names beside it

Ishmael moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ishmael

Moved the opposite way to Ishmael

Moved the same way as Ishmael