UK boy's name
Yishai
Masculine Hebrew name meaning "God exists" or "gift of God".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Yishai is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yishai popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3688, with 5 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2009, with 8 births.
This profile covers 68 England and Wales registrations across 17 recorded years from 2004 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 63% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 68 living people in the UK are called Yishai. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Yishai ranked #3688 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 5 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2009, when 8 boys were registered as Yishai.
- • About 68 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yishai as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3688
2024
Births in 2024
5
Latest year
Peak year
2009
8 births
Estimated living
68
2026
Meaning
What does Yishai mean?
The given name Yishai is a Hebrew name derived from the biblical figure Isai (Hebrew: ישי), who was the father of King David and a resident of Bethlehem. The name Yishai is believed to have originated in the ancient Hebrew language during the time of the united monarchy in ancient Israel, around the 10th century BCE.
The name Yishai is closely related to the Hebrew word "Yesh" (יש), which means "there is" or "to exist". It is thought that the name Yishai may have meant "gift of God" or "God exists". In the Bible, Yishai is mentioned in several books, including 1 Samuel, where he is described as the son of Obed and the father of eight sons, including David, who later became the second king of the united kingdom of Israel and Judah.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Yishai can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where Yishai is mentioned as the father of King David. This would date the earliest usage of the name to around the 10th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Yishai. One of the most famous was Yishai ben Avraham (c. 1853 - 1925), a prominent Jewish scholar and author who lived in Ottoman Palestine and published works on Jewish law and philosophy.
Another notable Yishai was Yishai Friedman (1923 - 2009), an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (head of a Talmudic academy) who was known for his expertise in Jewish law and his leadership of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Israel.
Yishai Oliel (1907 - 1994) was an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) who served as the Minister of Development in the 1960s and worked to establish new settlements in Israel.
Yishai Shner (born 1966) is a contemporary Israeli novelist and playwright who has written several acclaimed works, including the novel "Sunrise Sunset" and the play "The Promised Land".
Yishai Schlissel (born 1975) is an Israeli extremist and convicted criminal who carried out a stabbing attack at the Jerusalem Pride Parade in 2015, injuring several people.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yishai over time
The chart below shows babies named Yishai registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2004 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Yishai, the clearest high point is 2009. The latest England and Wales figure is 5 births in 2024, compared with 8 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yishai by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yishai was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3773 | 19 | 4 |
| 2010s | #4259 | 29 | 8 |
| 2000s | #3757 | 20 | 5 |
Related
Names similar to Yishai
- Yusuf 11,801
- Yahya 5,758
- Yunus 2,009
- Yaseen 1,799
- Yasin 1,797
- Yuvraj 1,605
- Yaqub 1,517
- Yousef 1,489
- Yousuf 1,454
- Yasir 1,056
- Yash 876
- Youssef 749
FAQ
Yishai: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yishai in the UK right now?
In 2024, Yishai was ranked #3688 for boys in England and Wales, with 5 births registered.
When was Yishai most popular?
The peak year on record was 2009, with 8 babies registered as Yishai in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yishai?
Masculine Hebrew name meaning "God exists" or "gift of God".
How many people are called Yishai in the UK?
A total of 68 babies have been registered as Yishai across the 17 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.