We are expecting a child due in October.  We are considering Isaac as
a name for a boy.  What spelling variants are there of this name? 
What are the antecedents of this name?  My wife is Chinese with no
formal religious practice and I am a Christian.

Isaac is a fine Biblical name with a marvelous history (you just can't
get more dramatic than the story of Jacob and Isaac!) The original
Hebrew meaning of the name Isaac is "laughter," "he will laugh," or
"laughing one." Isaac was the 87th most popular name for boy babies in
2002.

Baby Name Network
http://www.babynamenetwork.com/detail.cfm?name=Isaac&gender=Male

Stork Avenue Baby Namer
http://babynamer.storkavenue.com/top_100_names_2002.html

I have found a number of variant spellings:

Isaak, Itze (German)
Ixaka (Basque)
Isacco, Sacco (Italian)
Izsak (Hungarian)
Icek (Polish)
Isak (Swedish)
Isaks (Latvian) 
Isaak, Isak, Izaac, Itzaak, Itzik (Dutch)
Yitshak, Yitzchak, Yitzhack, Yitzaak, Yitzak, Yisek, Yishaq (Hebrew)
Iskusa (Assyrian)

Nicknames for Isaac include Ike, Ikey, Ikie, Izzy, Zac, Zak, and Zack.

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For what it's worth, here's a "name analysis" according to the
Kabalarian Philosophy:

"Your name of Isaac gives you the desire to understand and help others
with their problems but, at the same time, you can become too involved
in their problems and, as a result, worry too much. This name creates
a pleasant, easy-going, yet responsible nature. It gives you a natural
ability to express affection to those close to you, without feelings
of embarrassment..."

Kabalarians
http://www.kabalarians.com/male/isaac.htm

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Here are some interesting items about the Biblical background of the
name Isaac:

"God informed Abraham that he would give him a son and Sarah would
become the "mother of nations". This was funny to Abraham and he
laughed about it because he knew he and Sarah were old, Genesis
17:15-22...  When God and the angels came to visit Sodom, He reminded
Abraham and Sarah of His plan to give them Isaac. This time Sarah
laughed in disbelief. "Isaac" is important. The name means "he will
laugh."

Good News Inc
http://www.goodnewsinc.net/v3gn/daysolot.html

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"In biblical times the Hebrew language was written with no vowels.
Thus Isaac would have been spelled simply Sk or Sc in the English
equivalents of the Hebrew characters. We should not consider it
astonishing that shortly after the exile of the 10 tribes the term
SaCae (the letters for the name Isaac with the Latin plural ending
"ae") identified the new settlers in the Black Sea region of Scythia.
The Assyrians similarly spoke of the emergence of the iShKuza and the
Persian-Medians of the SaKa, both derivations of the name Isaac. (We
have capitalized the S, C and K in these examples to help you see
their derivations.)"

United Church of God
http://www.ucg.org/articles/usbbp/ch4links.html

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"A. The birth of Isaac.

  1. (1) God fulfills His promise to Abraham and Sarah.

    a. It took a long time (25 years) for this promise to come to
pass, but the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken, just as He always
does.

    b. The promise of a son was not fulfilled because Abraham was
perfect in his obedience, but because God was faithful to His Word.

      i. Some promises of God are conditional. They depend on
something we must do. But other promises of God are unconditional, and
God will fulfill them not because of what we do, but because of who He
is.

  2. (2-7) The child is named Isaac.

    a. Originally, the name Isaac was meant as somewhat of a rebuke of
the laughter of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:17-19; 18:12-15), but
God has turned a gentle rebuke into an occasion for joy.

    b. Isaac becomes a wonderful type (picture) of Jesus:

       Both were the promised sons. 
       Both were born after a period of delay. 
       Both mothers were assured by God’s omnipotence (Genesis
18:13-14; Luke 1:34, 37).
       Both were given names rich with meaning before they were born.
       Both births occurred at God’s appointed time (Genesis 21:2;
Galatians 4:4).
       Both births were miraculous. 
       Both births were accompanied by joy (Genesis 21:6; Luke
1:46-47; 2:10-11)."

Calvary Chapel Commentaries
http://calvarychapel.com/simivalley/commentaries/Genesis21.htm

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There have been quite a few famous men named Isaac or Isaak:

Isaac Asimov, Author and Scientist
Isaak Babel, Author
Isaak August Dorner, Theologian
Isaac Hanson, Musician
Isaac Hayes, Musician and Actor
Isaak Levitan, Artist
Isaac Mizrahi, Fashion Designer 
Isaac Newton, Scientist
Isaac Bashevis Singer, Author
Isaac Stern, Musician
Isaak Walton, Author

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Search terms used (in varying combinations) to locate this
information:

"isaac"
"isaak"
"the name isaac"
"baby names"
"famous names"
"isaac" + "meaning"
"isaac" + "history"

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I hope this is helpful. If anything I've said is unclear or
incomplete, if any of the links do not function, or if more
information is needed, please request clarification before rating my
answer, and I'll gladly offer further assistance.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 23 Feb 2003 08:35 PST

Correction:

In my text above, "you just can't get more dramatic than the story of
Jacob and Isaac" should read "you just can't get more dramatic than
the story of Abraham and Isaac". (Which is not to slight Jacob, who
has his own dramatic story.)

~pinkfreud