The Issa surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,088 people carried this name — #8,110 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,900 people counted. That is up 59% from 2,576 in 2000.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 751 people named Issa live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Tucumán.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
363 people named Issa live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 306 people named Issa live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 152 people named Issa.
Most of them — 116 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 13 départements, most often La Réunion.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
33 people named Issa have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 100 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Podlaskie.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
3,376 people named Issa are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Issa in American newspapers,
1894–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 47,382 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Issa,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Issa El-Issa 1878–1950 · poet -
Muhammad Hilmi Isa Pasha 1880–1953 · politician -
Abdullahi Issa 1922–1988 · politician -
Raja El-Issa 1922–2008 · journalist -
Salah Isa 1939–2017 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 85 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Issa.
- Ismail 6,126 · U.S. census
- Ismaili 458 · U.S. census
- Ismert 191 · U.S. census
- Isner 806 · U.S. census
- Isola 1,052 · U.S. census
- Israel 10,245 · U.S. census
- Issler 285 · U.S. census
- Istre 1,841 · U.S. census
- Italiano 1,150 · U.S. census
- Ithier 232 · U.S. census
- Ittel 145 · U.S. census
- Itty 138 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Issa is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.