Isa
Meaning and origin
From a pet form of Isabella, Lovisa and Louise. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1866.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Isa (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Isa has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2009. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 42 | – |
| 1999 | 36 | – |
| 2000 | 50 | – |
| 2001 | 41 | – |
| 2002 | 57 | – |
| 2003 | 56 | – |
| 2004 | 74 | 7 |
| 2005 | 70 | 9 |
| 2006 | 73 | 5 |
| 2007 | 72 | 3 |
| 2008 | 55 | 5 |
| 2009 | 76 | 9 |
| 2010 | 68 | 4 |
| 2011 | 38 | 8 |
| 2012 | 57 | 5 |
| 2013 | 64 | 4 |
| 2014 | 56 | 12 |
| 2015 | 69 | 11 |
| 2016 | 57 | 11 |
| 2017 | 53 | 16 |
| 2018 | 46 | 6 |
| 2019 | 35 | 16 |
| 2020 | 25 | 13 |
| 2021 | 23 | 16 |
| 2022 | 23 | 13 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 732 | 300 |
| 2000 | 776 | 307 |
| 2001 | 806 | 309 |
| 2002 | 860 | 315 |
| 2003 | 898 | 323 |
| 2004 | 966 | 335 |
| 2005 | 1,037 | 343 |
| 2006 | 1,098 | 358 |
| 2007 | 1,165 | 369 |
| 2008 | 1,220 | 376 |
| 2009 | 1,294 | 389 |
| 2010 | 1,353 | 400 |
| 2011 | 1,388 | 407 |
| 2012 | 1,449 | 414 |
| 2013 | 1,504 | 422 |
| 2014 | 1,548 | 442 |
| 2015 | 1,621 | 460 |
| 2016 | 1,676 | 479 |
| 2017 | 1,728 | 504 |
| 2018 | 1,767 | 516 |
| 2019 | 1,800 | 531 |
| 2020 | 1,829 | 545 |
Isa in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Isa.Hi! My name is Isa.
- Jag ska fika med Isa i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Isa this afternoon.
- Vet du om Isa kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Isa is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Isas mamma är lärare.Isa's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Isas mamma is Isa's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Isa
How do you pronounce Isa in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Isa from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Isa mean?
From a pet form of Isabella, Lovisa and Louise. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1866.
How popular is Isa in Sweden?
36 babies were named Isa in 2022. In 2020, 2,374 people in Sweden had Isa as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2009 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.