Ismael is the Spanish and French form of Ishmael, from the Hebrew Yishmael, and means "God will hear" or "God hears". In the Book of Genesis Ishmael is the son of Abraham and Hagar; in Islamic tradition he is the prophet Ismail, an ancestor of Muhammad, and Melville's narrator introduces himself with "Call me Ishmael". Ismael has been in the US top 1000 all century, moving from number 341 in 2000 to a peak of number 234 in 2024 and number 263 among boys' names in 2025.