MEANING & HISTORY
What does Israel mean?
Israel is the biblical name given to Jacob, and its traditional interpretation is tied to the wrestling narrative. The scholarly medieval-name dictionary gives the Hebrew name the explanation “he who wrestles with God.”
Other linguistic discussions distinguish that narrative interpretation from proposals such as “God rules,” so a single modern English phrase does not exhaust its history. The Tagalog account records a Spanish borrowing, showing how the familiar Philippine form can travel through several languages. As a personal name, Israel should be explained independently of assumptions about a modern bearer’s citizenship, religion or ancestry.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ʔisɾaˈʔel/Standard-Tagalog
- [ʔɪs.ɾɐˈʔɛl]Standard-Tagalog
Is · ra · el3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗English
- /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/
- /ˈɪz.ɹi.əl/
- /ˈɪz.ɹeɪl/US
- /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.ɛl/formal and posh RP
- /ˈɪz.ɹaɪ.ɛl/in singing also
- /ˈɪz.ɹɛəl/certain Carolina accents
Spanish
- /israˈel/
- [iz.raˈel]
- [iz.ʐaˈel]Latin-America
Is · ra · el3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Israel (“Israel”), from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”).
a male given name, equivalent to English Israel
Wiktionary: Israel (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in Genesis 32:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)). Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr. : i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2 Doublet of Yisroel.
A male given name from Hebrew.; Another name for Jacob, notably after Genesis 32:28 and in later references.
Wiktionary: Israel (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Israel
Wiktionary: Israel (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
2
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Israel in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Israel
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Ismael♂God hears or God will hear
- Isabel♀My God is an oath
- Rael♂Shortened Israel in the Cebuano account
- Isaac♂He laughs; he will laugh
- Isabela♀Form of Isabel, in the Elizabeth name family
- Isang♀Familiar Isabel in Tagalog; Luisa or Marisa in Cebuano
- Isay♀Tagalog familiar form of Luisa and other isa-ending names
- Islaw♂Familiar form of Estanislao; Israel also recorded in Cebuano
What rhymes with Israel?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
- AbelTagalog · /-el/
- ArnelTagalog · /-el/
- DanielTagalog · /-el/
- FidelTagalog · /-el/
- GabrielTagalog · /-el/
- GabrielleTagalog · /-el/
- IsabelTagalog · /-el/
- IsmaelTagalog · /-el/
- MaelTagalog · /-el/
- ManuelTagalog · /-el/
- MaribelTagalog · /-el/
- MiguelTagalog · /-el/
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Israel further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Israel (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Israel (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Israel (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- S. L. Uckelman — Israel, DMNES (opens in a new tab)
Hebrew personal name, traditional wrestling-with-God interpretation and Jacob narrative.