Ismael Urbain, also Ismayl Urbain (born Thomas Urbain, 31 December 1812 – 28 January 1884) was a French journalist and interpreter.
Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, Urbain was the illegitimate son of a merchant from Marseille named Urbain Brue and a free non-white woman from French Guiana named Appoline. Ismael, who bore his father's first name as his surname, was brought by him to Marseille when he was eight, and there he received an education. In 1830, his father returned him to French Guiana where he hoped that he would turn to business. However, because of the pitiful state of his father's affairs, Urbain was not allowed back, and in the following year he again returned to Marseille.
