Ishmael

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Ishmael is Hebrew in origin and means “God Listens.”^[1] It refers specifically to the promise that God will listen to the cries of Israel.^[1] The original form of the name, Yishm’e’l, was used in Babylonia and Minaea (ancient Yemen).^[1]

Ishmael was Abraham’s oldest son, born of Hagar, who was Sarah’s handmaiden. Ishmael is considered to be the father of Islam. ^[1] Ishmael and his mother were expelled from Canaan after Ishmael insulted Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah. He became an important chief in the desert, and had twelve sons who became the leaders of twelve Arab tribes.^[1] According to Islamic tradition, Ishmael is a prophet, and is a direct ancestor of the prophet Mohammed.^[1]

POPULARITY

Ishmael has had sporadic popularity in the United States. For the most part, it has been absent from the top 1000 chart, but a few years it has slid up just enough to make it. For example, Ishmael appeared on the top 1000 chart in 1880, then not again until 1893. It also appeared in 1901, 1912, 1914, 1916 and 1917. Ishmael then disappeared from the chart until 1995-1998, and it has not yet reappeared. Its highest position on the chart was in 1912 when it ranked at number 788.^[1]

The spelling Ismael has been more popular. It first appeared on the top 1000 chart in 1928, and broke the top 500 in the late 1960s. Its highest rank so far was in 2006, when it ranked 324. In 2007, Ismael ranked at number 327.^[1]</ref>

Ishmael ranked at number 533 in Australia in 1999.^[1]

FACTS

• The first line of Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick is "Call me Ishmael." This is undoubtedly one of the most famous lines in Western literature, and is tauted by the American Book Review to be #1 on their list of "Best First Lines from Novels."^[1] The name Ishmael has come to symbolize a pariah or a wanderer; the narrator of Moby Dick is not actually named Ishmael, but calls himself such in order to associate himself with this symbolism.^[1]
• Ishmael is the name of a novel by author Daniel Quinn. The character Ishmael is a gorilla, who can communicate with a man telepathically. The novel was the inspiration for the 1999 film Instinct and has sparked a large following and many ethical discussions about sustainability.^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Ishmael, novel by Daniel Quinn
• Ishmael Community
• The Friends of Ishmael Society
• Hope For Ishmael: Jewish-Islam peace project

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Ishmael Miller: soccer player
• Ishmael Ian Smale: evangelist and author
• Ishmael Reed: author and poet (born February 22, 1938)
• Ishmael Khaldi: Bedouin Israeli activist
• Ishmael Beah: former child soldier (Sierra Leone) and author
• Larry Ishmael: U.S. politician
• Ishmael Katz: musician

NOTES

OTHER ISHMAEL'S

Ishmael Aaron, Ishmael Adams, Ishmael Adane, Ishmael Aguda, Ishmael Aguirre, Ishmael Ahmed, Ishmael Akbar, Ishmael Akram, Ishmael Alcala, Ishmael Alexander, Ishmael Allah, Ishmael Allen, Ishmael Alvarado, Ishmael Alvarez, Ishmael Amtar, Ishmael Anderson, Ishmael Abass, Ishmael Abdelaziz, Ishmael Abdul, Ishmael Abdul-allah, Ishmael Abdul-haqq, Ishmael Abdulbarr, Ishmael Abdullateef, Ishmael Abdulsamad, Ishmael Abrahim, Ishmael Abutaleb, Ishmael Aceves, Ishmael Acuna, Ishmael Addington, Ishmael Addison, Ishmael Adjekum, Ishmael Afroh, Ishmael Agosto, Ishmael Aguilar, Ishmael Aguilera, Ishmael Agyemang, Ishmael Ahmad, Ishmael Akahoho, Ishmael Akers, Ishmael Al-islam, Ishmael Alejo, Ishmael Alfaro, Ishmael Ali, Ishmael Alston, Ishmael Alva, Ishmael Ambrosine, Ishmael Amin, Ishmael Alleyne, Ishmael Acker, Ishmael Baal, More results

Author: Sarena Emily Levinson