Ismail ( ar, إسماعيل or , ) is an Arabic given name. It corresponds to the English name Ishmael.

Etymology and meaning

The literal translation of the name ''Ismail'' is "heard by God" and according to Abrahamic tradition, it refers to the yearning of Abraham and his wife, Sarah, to have a child. Ismail's mother, however, was not Sarah, but

Hagar Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to h ...

, Sarah's maidservant, who Sarah gave to Abraham as a concubine because she was unable to have a child. Sarah later does give birth to a son,

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

. According to Genesis, the name is given by God as He heard the cries of Hagar who had been mistreated by Sarah after becoming pregnant and run away. According to Islamic tradition,

Ismail Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

's mother,

was also a full wife of the Prophet Abraham.

Given name

, son of Ibrahim * Isma'il ibn Musa al-Hadi was an Abbasid prince, son of caliph Al-Hadi (r. 785–786). * Isma'il ibn Jaʽfar al-Mutawakkil, was an Abbasid prince, son of caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847—861). * Saint Ismael Orthodox Christian Saint * Ignatius Ismail (), Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Mardin *

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

(1487–1524), the founder of the Safavid dynasty *

Ismail Abdul Rahman Tun Dr. Ismail bin Abdul Rahman ( ms, إسماعيل بن عبدالرحمن, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 4 November 1915 – 2 August 1973) was a Malaysian politician who served as the second Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from ...

, Malaysian politician; former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia * Ismail Abu Shanab (1950–2003), Hamas politician * İsmail Acar (born 1971), Turkish painter * Ismail Akbay (1930–2003), Turkish scientist *

Ismail Amat Ismail Amat ( ug, ئىسمائىل ئەھمەد, translit=Isma'il Ehmet; zh , s = 司马义·艾买提 , p = Sīmǎyì Àimǎití ; September 1935 – 16 October 2018) was a Chinese politician of Uyghur ethnicity who served as Chairman (Governor ...

(1935–2018), Chinese politician * Ismail al-Armouti (died 2013), Jordanian politician * Esmail Babolian, Iranian numerical analyst * Ismail Balkhi (1918–1968), Afghan politician * Ismail bin Mail, Malaysian inventor of 2 for 1 ringgit *

Isma'il Beg Mirza Ismail Beg Hamdani (died March 1794) was a Mughal Commander. Son of Mirza Munim Beg and a kinsman of Mirza Najaf Khan, he along with his family fled Persia at the rise of Nadir Shah. Biography Arriving in India many members of his famil ...

, Uyghur rebel leader * İsmail Beşikçi, Turkish scholar * Esmail Davarfar, Iranian actor * İsmail Enver, Turkish military officer * Ismail Ebrahim (1946–2020), South African cricketer * Ismail Fahmi, Egyptian diplomat * İsmail Güldüren, Turkish footballer *

Ismail Al Hammadi Ismail Al Hammed ( ar, إسماعيل الحمادي; born 1 July 1988) is an Emirati footballer. He currently plays for Khor Fakkan and for United Arab Emirates national football team and represented them at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

, Emirati footballer *

Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh; sometimes transliterated as Haniya, Haniyah, or Hanieh (born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Hani ...

, Palestinian politician * Ismail Hoxha, Albanian politician Professor Ph.D University " La Sapienza" Rome *

Isma'il ibn Jafar Abū Muḥammad Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Mubārak ( ar, إسماعيل بن جعفر; c.719 AD – c.762 AD) was the eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. He is also known as Isma'il al-Ãraj ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (اسماعيل الاعرج ...

, Imam of Ismaili Shia's *

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...

(born 1936), Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright * İsmail Kartal, Turkish footballer * İsmail Keleş (born 1988), Turkish sport shooter * İsmail Köybaşı, Turkish footballer * Esmail Koushan, Iranian film director *

Ismail Marzuki Ismail Marzuki (also known as Bang Ma'ing; 11 May 1914 – 25 May 1958) was an Indonesian composer, songwriter and musician who wrote around 202 to 240 songs between 1931 and 1958, including numerous popular patriotic songs. Among his best- ...

, Indonesian composer, songwriter, and musician * Esmail Merat, Iranian politician * İsmail Ogan, Turkish sport wrestler * İsmail Özdağlar (born 1950), Turkish politician and former government minister *

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

(1830–1895), Wali and khedive of Egypt * Ismail Patel, British optician *

Ismail Samani Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni ( fa, ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Ismail-i Samani (), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (), was the Sa ...

, Amir of the Samanids *

Ismail Ibn Sharif Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...

, Moroccan sultan *

Esmail Shooshtari Mohammad Esmail Shooshtari (born 1949 in Quchan, Razavi Khorasan province) is a former Iranian politician, and was the Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1989 to 2005. He is a former member of the Islamic Consultative Ass ...

, Iranian politician * Ismail Siddiq (1830–1876), Egyptian politician * Ismail Tiliwaldi, Chinese politician * İsmail Türüt, Turkish singer *

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...

, distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement * Esmail Zanjani, American academic *

Ismail ibn Musa Menk Ismail ibn Musa Menk ( ar, إسماعيل بن موسى منك, translit=ʾismāʿīl ibn mūsā mink) (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean Islamic scholar, best known as Mufti Menk. He is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe's Muslim community, which ma ...

, Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe * Ismail Abushaikha, Academician at Cranfield University, United Kingdom.

Middle name

Ahmad Ismail Ali Ahmad Ismail Ali ( ar, أحمد إسماعيل علي) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack acros ...

(1917–1974), Egyptian army officer

Surname or patronymic

* Abu Isma'il ibn Harun, was the son of Abbasid caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

* Ahmed Abu Ismail (1915–2013), Egyptian economist and politician * Abdul Fattah Ismail (1934-1986), Yemeni politician * Atik Ismail (born 1957), Finnish footballer *

Dhurgham Ismail Dhurgham Ismail Dawoud Al-Quraishi ( ar, ضرغام إسماعيل داوود القريشي; born 23 May 1994), known as Dhurgham Ismail, is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Iraqi Premier League club ...

, Iraqi football player *

Gulalai Ismail Gulalai Ismail ( ps, ; ur, گلالئی اسماعیل) is a Pashtun human rights activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is the chairperson of Aware Girls, a global ambassador for Humanists International, and a leading member of the P ...

, Pashtun women's rights activist * Hamid Ismail, Qatari footballer *

Hesham Ismail Hesham Ismail (born June 11, 1969) is a former American football offensive lineman who played one season with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1992 NFL D ...

, American football player * Mohammed Ismail, Afghan Guantanamo Bay detainee * Mourad Ismail, Egyptian Mathematician * Mustafa Ismail, Egyptian Qur'an reciter * Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudanese politician * Nabawi Ismail, Egyptian politician *

Ibrahim Artan Ismail Ibrahim Artan Ismail "Haaji Bakiin" ( so, Ibraahiim Cartan Ismacil, ar, ابراهيم ارتان اسماعيل) is a Somali politician. He previously served as the Minister of Security of Puntland. Career Nicknamed "Haaji Bakiin" (Xaaji Bakiin ...

Somali politician, former Minister of Security of Puntland * Qadry Ismail, an NCAA and NFL football player * Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, an NCAA and NFL football player *

Rami Ismail Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...

, Dutch Game Developer *

Salma Ismail Tan Sri Salma binti Ismail (19 December 1918 – 20 July 2014) was a Malaysian medical doctor and the first Malaysian Malay woman to qualify as a doctor. She became one of the first Malay general practitioners to open a private practice in 1967. ...

(1918–2014), Malaysian doctor *

Sam Esmail Sam Esmail (born September 17, 1977) is an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter who runs the production company Esmail Corp. He is best known as the creator, writer and director of the award-winning USA Network televi ...

, Egyptian-American screenwriter *

Sariamin Ismail Sariamin Ismail (31 July 1909 – 15 December 1995) was the first female Indonesian novelist to be published in the Dutch East Indies. A teacher by trade, by the 1930s she had begun writing in newspapers; she published her first novel, '' Ka ...

, Indonesian novelist * Shabnim Ismail (born 1988), South African cricketer * Shaker Ismail, Iraqi football player *

Sherif Ismail Sherif Ismail ( ar, شريف إسماعيل ; born 6 July 1955) is an Egyptian engineer who served as prime minister between 2015 and 2018. He was minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015. Career Ismail studied mechan ...

, Egyptian politician *

Sulaiman Ismail Sulaiman "The Bomb" Ismail is a former professional American Football player, and the younger brother of Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail and Qadry "The Missile" Ismail. He played collegiately as a walk-on at the University of Texas-El Paso in 1995. ...

, an

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player * Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist * Usmar Ismail, director and pioneer of Indonesian film

Etymology and meaning

Given name

Middle name

Surname or patronymic

See also