God will hear
Derived from the Hebrew name Yishmael, it signifies that God has heard a prayer or plea. In the Old Testament, Ishmael was the first son of Abraham and Hagar, and he is traditionally regarded as the ancestor of the Arab people.
Less common today
Ishmael isn't in the latest US Top 1000. It last peaked at #905 in 1997.
US births per 5-year period, 1990–present (SSA data).
The narrator of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick · Moby-Dick
Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist
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