ismael

Pronunciation
iz-MAY-el

Gender
male

Origin

Spanish; Portuguese; Hebrew

Ranking

  244 (as of 2023)

Meaning: God is listening; God heard

Ismael, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Ishmael, comes from the Hebrew name Yishmaʿel, which is composed of the Hebrew elements shama, meaning "to hear," and el, meaning "God." In the Bible, Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham and Hagar. While Ishmael is rarely used in the United States today, the name Ismael has been a mainstay on the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 for boy names ever since 1928 and recently cracked the top-250 for the first time ever in 2023. "Queer Eye" star Tan France and his husband, Rob France, attempted to start a new trend by naming their son Ismail, born in 2021, but most parents today still prefer Ismael.

Famous People Named Ismael

  Ismael Cala

  Cuban-Canadian journalist and motivational speaker known for his inspirational talks

  Ismael Rivera

  Famous Puerto Rican singer known as 'El Sonero Mayor' for his contributions to salsa music

  Ishmael Beah

  Author and former child soldier who advocates for peace and children's rights

  Ismail Haniyeh

  Palestinian political leader known for his role in advocating for peace

  Ismail Merchant

  Indian film producer known for his work in Merchant Ivory Productions

  Ismail al-Jazari

  Medieval Muslim engineer and inventor known for his pioneering work in robotics

  Ismail Kadare

  Albanian novelist and poet known for his works on Albanian history and culture

  Ismail Yassin

  Egyptian comedian and actor famous for his comedic films

  Ismail Enver Pasha

  Ottoman military officer and a leader during the Balkan Wars and World War I

  Ismail Omar Guelleh

  President of Djibouti known for his leadership and development efforts

Famous Media with people Named Ismael

    Ishmael from Moby-Dick

    The narrator of the classic novel 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville  

    Ismael from 'The Alchemist'

    A character in Paulo Coelho's novel who embarks on a journey to find his Personal Legend  

    Ishmael from 'Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit'

    A philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn featuring a gorilla named Ishmael who teaches about humanity's future  

    Ismail the Bloodthirsty

    A fictional pirate character from various adventure stories  

    Ishmael from 'Star Trek'

    A character from a 'Star Trek' novel involving time travel and historical events  

    Ishmael from 'The Bible'

    A biblical figure, son of Abraham, known for his story in the Book of Genesis  

    Ishmael from 'Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs'

    A children's book about a boy named Ishmael and his adventures  

    Ishmael from 'Ishmael's Oranges'

    A novel about a Palestinian boy named Ishmael and his experiences during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War  

    Ishmael from 'The Ishmael Series'

    A series of philosophical novels exploring themes of civilization and ecology  

    Ishmael from 'Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel'

    A book in the Ishmael series about a young boy's journey to self-discovery