Israel

The name originates in the Book of Genesis, chapter 32, in the account of the patriarch Jacob wrestling a mysterious divine figure through the night at the ford of the Jabbok.

After the encounter, Jacob is renamed Israel, and his 12 sons become the eponymous ancestors of the 12 tribes.

The name passed from personal designation to collective identity, eventually describing the people, the ancient kingdom, and the modern state established in 1948.

Literary and religious use spans millennia, from the Hebrew Bible itself through the medieval Jewish philosophical tradition of Maimonides and the 12th-century Mishneh Torah, to modern Spanish and Portuguese literature where the name remains common as

a given name.

The Yiddish diminutive Yisroel remained widespread in Eastern European Jewish communities through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the United States, Israel has ranked within the SSA top 1000 continuously since record-keeping began in 1880, with especially strong use among Hispanic American families.

It climbed to the top 200 by 2000 and currently sits near number 175. The name holds equally strong currency in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Brazil, where it is often pronounced Is-ra-el with 3 distinct syllables.

Contemporary bearers include Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, whose 1993 medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow became a global standard, and NBA player Israel Idonije.