Issa Family History

Arabic: from a variant of the personal name ʿĪsā Arabic form of Hebrew Yeshua Greek Iēsous (see Jesus). In Islam ʿĪsā is a prophet ‘messenger of God/Allah and his word’ (Koran 171). In the Koran 19:30 he proclaims ‘He (Allah) has given me the Book and established me as a Prophet.’

This surname is found among both Muslims and Christians in part as an Arabized form of Assyrian/Chaldean variants such as Isho. Compare Essa and Isa.

Somali: from a variant of the Somali Muslim personal name Isse, a cognate of 1 above. Compare Essa.

Note: Since Somalis traditionally do not have hereditary surnames, this name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.