Issa
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic. From Arabic عيسى (“Jesus”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Issa (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Issa has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2016. 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 | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 7 |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 4 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 12 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 8 |
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 | – | 207 |
| 2000 | – | 212 |
| 2001 | – | 219 |
| 2002 | – | 232 |
| 2003 | – | 238 |
| 2004 | – | 247 |
| 2005 | – | 250 |
| 2006 | – | 274 |
| 2007 | – | 283 |
| 2008 | – | 283 |
| 2009 | – | 296 |
| 2010 | – | 314 |
| 2011 | – | 334 |
| 2012 | – | 362 |
| 2013 | – | 409 |
| 2014 | – | 457 |
| 2015 | – | 515 |
| 2016 | – | 590 |
| 2017 | – | 637 |
| 2018 | – | 670 |
| 2019 | 10 | 686 |
| 2020 | 14 | 703 |
Issa in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Issa.Hi! My name is Issa.
- Issa bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Issa lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Issa har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Issa has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Issas mamma är lärare.Issa's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Issas mamma is Issa's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Issa
How do you pronounce Issa in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Issa in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Issa mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic. From Arabic عيسى (“Jesus”).
How popular is Issa in Sweden?
8 babies were named Issa in 2022. In 2020, 717 people in Sweden had Issa as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2016 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.