Israel

Gender Masculine
Usage Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Scripts יִשְׂרָאֵל(Hebrew) Ἰσραήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/(English) /ˈɪz.ɹi.əl/(English) /iz.ra.ˈel/(Spanish)  [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.

Related Names

Rootssara + ʾel
VariantsIser, Issur, Yisroel(Yiddish)
DiminutivesIssy, Izzy(English)
Other Languages & CulturesYisra'el(Biblical Hebrew) Israhel(Biblical Latin) Yisrael(Hebrew)
User SubmissionsIsraèl, Israël

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   devious   strong   strange  

Name Days

Sweden: December 20

Images

Jacob wrestling the angel, in a detail from a fresco by Eugène Delacroix (1861)Jacob wrestling the angel, in a detail from a fresco by Eugène Delacroix (1861)

Categories

accordionists, actions, biblical places, chess Grandmasters, conflict, countries, Duggar family, ends in -el, gospel musicians, isograms, kingdoms, Morrissey songs, never out of the US top 1000, Our Flag Means Death characters, personifications, pirates, reggae musicians, Siouxsie and the Banshees songs, theophoric names, Tori Amos lyrics

Sources & References

  1. Strong, James. The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, entry g2474, available from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=g2474.
Entry updated October 6, 2024