37,509 Global Isaacs Family Members

Isaacs Family History

This surname is patronymic in that it derives from the personal name of an ancestor.

Its popularity as a given name originally stemmed from its Biblical associations. As such it later developed as a Christian surname during the medieval period in England, but much later, between the 16th and 19th centuries, in Wales, even though the name itself of course has Hebrew roots – 'yishaq' – meaning 'he laughs'.

Early recorded examples of the name include Robert fil. Isaac of Lincolnshire, Johannes Isaak, of Norfolk, and John Ysac of Oxfordshire who all appear on the 1273 Hundred Rolls. In Scotland a Sir Thomas Isaac was recorded as a witness in Edinburgh in 1358, and an Andrew Isak of Scotland was granted safe conduct into England in 1405.

In England, hereditary surnames such as Isaac had emerged by around 1400. There were some notable Isaac surname clusters in the county of Devon during the 19th century as well as in Gloucestershire.

In Wales, such hereditary surnames only began to be adopted by the majority of the population between the 16th and 19th centuries, depending on where in the country the families lived and on their social status. As such, the Isaac surname in Wales normally therefore refers back to an ancestor with the given name Isaac who lived during that particular period.

Early parish register records relating to this surname appear in most Welsh counties during the 18th century, mainly in Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire.

By the mid 19th century, the surname was particularly apparent in south west Wales – in Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire and parts of Glamorganshire – suggesting that Isaac had once been a relatively popular first name in that part of the country.

 

SOURCES:

1841 & 1851 census

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)