Israel
A Hebrew name meaning "god contends". In Poland it stays rare: only about 300 men carry it, given now to almost no one and always to boys.
Israel Pronunciation
Israel is pronounced ees-RAH-el (/isˈraɛl/).
What Israel means
Where Israel comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Israel comes from the Hebrew Yisra'el, read most often as "God contends." Its source is a scene in the book of Genesis, where Jacob wrestles a stranger from dusk until first light and, at dawn, receives a new name. That struggle gave the name its meaning.
For a long time the name stayed with Jewish families. Among the Sephardim of Spain it carried forward from one generation to the next, a Spanish thread running through a Hebrew name. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, those families took it with them. Israel arrives without diminutives. No pet form softens it.
On a Polish school register the name would stand apart from the Kacpry and Bartosze around it. The Polish gloss set beside it reads "walczący z bogiem," one who contends with God.
How many people are named Israel
1 in 69082 men in Poland is named Israel. 309 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1722 among male names.
Israel's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Where Israel is most popular
Israel is most popular in Greater Poland, 904% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025).
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Greater Poland2 boys born+904%
Israel as a middle name
Israel is a first name for 309 men in Poland and a middle name for another 164, a 65/35 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 546th, between Zachary (165) and Telesfor (163).
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#544 Giuseppe165
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#545 Zachary165
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#546 Israel164
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#547 Telesfor163
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#548 Antony161