How to say it
i · SA · iah
/aɪˈzeɪ.ə/
Masculine
Isaiah
Yahweh is salvation
What it means
Hebrew Yeshayahu, 'Yahweh is salvation.' One of the major prophets of the Old Testament; the book named for him is one of the most quoted texts in the New Testament.
Isaiah is the English form of the Hebrew Yeshayahu (yēšaʿ 'salvation' + yāh, a shortening of Yahweh). The prophet Isaiah was active in 8th-century-BC Jerusalem; his book is one of the longest in the Old Testament and one of the most-cited in the New (the messianic passages and the swords-into-plowshares vision both come from it). The English Isaiah was steady but uncommon until the biblical-name revival of the 1990s, when it joined Jeremiah and Elijah in surging. It's been in the US top 100 since 1999. Common shorts are Izzy and Zay.
Popularity over time
peaked at #39 in 2006, currently #57 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pronunciation
Three syllables, eye-ZAY-uh. The final 'iah' is pronounced ee-uh, not ay-uh.
- Nickname
Izzy and Zay both circulate. Many Isaiahs keep the full form.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Isaiah (Bible) 8th-century-BC prophet, his book is one of the most-quoted in the New Testament
- Isaiah Thomas NBA Hall of Famer, Detroit Pistons
- Isaiah Washington Actor, Grey's Anatomy
Spelling variants
- Isaias
- Yeshayahu
Names with the same feeling
See Isaiah from another angle
By meaning
By style