How popular is the baby name Yitzhak in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Yitzhak.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Yitzhak


Posts that mention the name Yitzhak

What influenced the baby name Estelle in Sweden?

The Swedish royal family caused some controversy back in 2012 when Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel named their baby girl Estelle.

One Swedish journalist said the name was “a very strange choice which I believe will be much discussed.” He added: “Estelle sounds like the name of a nightclub queen.”

Many speculated that the princess was named after American-born Countess Estelle Bernadotte (1904-1984) in order to make a political statement. Estelle’s husband Folke Bernadotte (son of Ebba Munck) was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948, and one of the people behind the murder was future Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

Regardless of the reason it was chosen, the Princess’s name is now more popular than ever before in Sweden. Usage dipped right after she was born, but rebounded a few years later:

  • 2017: 75 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2016: 70 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2015: 43 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2014: 45 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2013: 33 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2012: 55 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2011: 64 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2010: 53 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2009: 38 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden
  • 2008: 41 baby girls named Estelle in Sweden

It didn’t come close to hitting the top 10 in 2017, but did rank somewhere around 145th.

According to one source, “[t]he name Estelle fits into a smallish trend in Sweden, where names of French origin — or just French-sounding — are slowly becoming popular. Some other names in this group are: Amélie, Celine, Leonie and Noelle.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Estelle?

Sources: Naming princess Estelle a ‘political statement’ by Swedish Royal Family, Estelle – Reactions to a royal name-giving in Sweden (PDF)

Baby name story: Yitzhak Rabin

Baby Yitzhak Rabin and mother Miriam in March, 1996.
Miriam and baby Yitzhak Rabin

On January 28, 1996, a Muslim baby was born in Jordan.

The controversial baby name he was given? Yitzhak Rabin.

His parents chose the name “in honor of the historic Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty signed in 1994 by [Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein.”

The name was initially rejected by Jordan’s state registrar on the grounds that Jewish names were illegal. But Yitzhak’s parents, Rajai and Miriam, fought to keep the name and won.

The couple was relentlessly harassed about Yitzhak’s name — by strangers, neighbors, even relatives. Rajai lost his job. Miriam and the baby “were forced to move from place to place like fugitives, even spending nights in bus depots and a safehouse with an uncle in Amman.”

No longer safe in Jordan, the family relocated to Israel in 1998 with the help of Leah Rabin (Yitzhak’s widow).

They had a hard time adjusting, but “the most tragic situation befell Miriam’s brother back in Jordan, who, according to Miriam, was murdered by a group of thugs as revenge for his nephew’s name.”

Miriam took Yitzhak to Jordan with the intention of attending her brother’s funeral, but, in her telling, a melee ensued at the border crossing, where a small group of protesters awaited them. She put Yitzhak, still a toddler, back on the bus to Israel, bruised and bleeding. It was the last time he would set foot on the soil of his native country.

Ever since, the family has lived in exile. The Israeli government has promised to make the family permanent residents, but that hasn’t happened yet, so there’s a chance they could one day be sent back to Jordan.

Yitzhak, now 18, considers himself an Israeli. He speaks only Hebrew, plans to convert to Judaism, and hopes to enlist in the Israeli army one day.

Despite everything, Miriam strongly defends her son’s name:

“Why should I have regrets?” Miriam fired back without hesitation. “Yitzhak [Isaac] was a prophet for both Jews and Muslims. And Rabin? [Most] Jordanians want peace. So why should I regret it?”

Try to imagine being in Miriam’s shoes back in the late 1990s. Would you have changed your young son’s name, to protect your family? Or would you have kept the name, despite the dangers?

Sources:

Image: © 1996 Reuters