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Isaac Family History

Isaac Surname Meaning

Jewish English Welsh and French: from the Biblical Hebrew personal name Yishaq ‘he laughs’. This was the name of the son of Abraham (Genesis 23) by his wife Sarah. The traditional explanation of the name is that Abraham and Sarah laughed with joy at the birth of a son to them in their old age but a more plausible explanation is that the name originally meant ‘may God laugh’ i.e. ‘smile on him’. Like Abraham this name has always been immensely popular among Jews but was also widely used in medieval Europe among Christians. Hence it is the surname of many gentile families as well as Jews. In England and Wales it was one of the Old Testament names that were particularly popular among Nonconformists in the 17th–19th centuries which accounts for its frequency as a Welsh surname. (Welsh surnames were generally formed much later than English ones.) In eastern Europe the personal name in its various vernacular forms was popular in Orthodox (Russian Ukrainian and Bulgarian) Catholic (Polish) and Protestant (Czech) Churches. It was borne by a 5th-century father of the Armenian Church and by a Spanish martyr executed by the Moorish rulers of Cordoba in AD 851 on account of his tireless polemics against Islam. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from other languages e.g. Assyrian/Chaldean Iskhaq or Ishak Hungarian Izsák and Slovenian Izak and also their patronymics e.g. Serbian Isakov . The name Isaac is also found among Christians in southern India but since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames the southern Indian name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US. Compare Issac .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Issac, Saar, Saad, Isaak, Shan, Islam, Ishak, Sas, Isaacs, Sawa

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Where is the Isaac family from?

You can see how Isaac families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Isaac family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Isaac families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 6 Isaac families living in Maryland. This was about 19% of all the recorded Isaac's in USA. Maryland had the highest population of Isaac families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Isaac surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Isaac ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Isaac. 23% of Isaac men worked as a Laborer and 11% of Isaac women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Isaac were Farm Laborer and Housekeeper. .

View Census Data for Isaac | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    23%
  • Farmer
    19%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Farm Laborer
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    11%
  • Housewife
    10%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Isaac family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 123,000 census records available for the last name Isaac. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Isaac census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 20,000 immigration records available for the last name Isaac. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 15,000 military records available for the last name Isaac. For the veterans among your Isaac ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Isaac lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Isaac life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1951, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Isaac in 1944 was 42, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Isaac

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