boy's name
Issa
EE-sa
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 16,692
France
#75
2025 births
Issa is a boy's name of Arabic origin, the Quranic name of Jesus. It ranks seventy-fifth in France and 632nd in England and Wales, and is rising in both, having entered our records only in 1969.
- Issa is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2023, when 850 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 737 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1966.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Issa over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 10 |
| 1970s | 85 |
| 1980s | 310 |
| 1990s | 430 |
| 2000s | 1,280 |
| 2010s | 5,210 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,620 |
What Issa means
Issa is the Arabic name for Jesus, so its meaning is that of the Hebrew Yeshua: the Lord is salvation. As a name it functions as a reference to the prophet rather than as a descriptive word.
Where Issa comes from
Issa renders the Arabic Isa, the form in which Jesus appears throughout the Quran, where he is a prophet and the Messiah though not divine. Why Arabic uses Isa rather than a form closer to the Hebrew Yeshua has been debated for centuries; proposals include transmission through Syriac and a deliberate parallel with Musa, Moses, giving the two prophets rhyming names. The name is common across the Arabic-speaking world among Muslims and Christians alike. It is unrelated to the Japanese poet Issa, a pen name meaning a cup of tea, and to the Swahili Issa, which is the same Arabic name arriving by a different route.
Issa in use
Issa ranks seventy-fifth in France with about 825 births in 2025 and its peak in our records is 2024, so it is still climbing. It has real British presence at 632 in England and Wales and appears in Ireland. Our data carries it from 1969, placing it among the earlier Arabic names in the French series alongside Kaïs and Naïm.
How popular is Issa?
In 2025, Issa was given to 800 babies in France, ranking #75 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Issa is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Issa is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ïssa | Ïssa is a rare spelling of Issa, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 115 times, mostly in France. | 115 |
| Issâ | Issâ is a rare spelling of Issa, written with a circumflex and recorded about 55 times, mostly in France. | 55 |
| Îssa | Îssa is a rare spelling of Issa, written with a circumflex and recorded about 45 times, mostly in France. | 45 |
| Îssâ | Îssâ is a rare spelling of Issa, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Issa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Issa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Issa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Issa in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Issa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Issa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Issa
What does the name Issa mean?
Issa is the Arabic name for Jesus, so it carries the sense of the Hebrew Yeshua: the Lord is salvation.
Is Issa a Muslim name?
It is used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians alike. Isa is a prophet in the Quran.
Why is it Isa rather than Yeshua?
Long debated. Proposals include transmission through Syriac and a deliberate parallel with Musa, giving the two prophets rhyming names.
How popular is Issa?
Seventy-fifth in France and 632nd in England and Wales, rising in both.
Is Issa a girl's or a boy's name?
Issa is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Issa?
Issa has 2 syllables.
Is Issa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Issa currently ranks #75 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.