Ike

  • [ IEK ]
  • English
Diminutive of ISAAC. This was the nickname of the American president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), based on the initial sound of his surname.

ISAAC   male   English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tzachaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.

As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Isaac, Issac
EQUIVALENTS
ARMENIAN: Sahak
BIBLICAL GREEK: Isaak
BIBLICAL HEBREW: Yitzhak
BIBLICAL LATIN: Isaac
BIBLICAL: Isaac
DANISH: Isak
DUTCH: Izaäk, Sjaak
FINNISH: Iikka, Iiro, Iisakki
GERMAN: Isaak
HEBREW: Itzhak, Yitzhak
HUNGARIAN: Izsák
JEWISH: Isaac
NORWEGIAN: Isak
OLD CHURCH SLAVIC: Isaaku
POLISH: Izaak
RUSSIAN: Isaak
SWEDISH: Isak
DIMINUTIVES AND SHORT FORMS
DUTCH: Sjakie