Isidore
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "gift of Isis".
Name Census estimates that about 717 living Americans carry the first name Isidore. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Isidore today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isidore births was 1919 (183 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isidore. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Isidore with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
717
~ 1 in 478,040 Americans
Peak year
1919
183 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,473
Tracked since 1881
Census
Isidore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 804 people with the first name Isidore, which placed it at #14,601 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,601
National first-name rank
People counted
804
804 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isidore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isidore is White at 49.1%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Hispanic (17.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Isidore described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Isidore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.1% · 395
- Black or African American24.0% · 193
- Hispanic or Latino17.2% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 40
- Two or more races3.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 14
Popularity
Isidore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isidore from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,357 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isidore by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Isidore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isidores live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Isidore, while Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 383 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isidore
The name Isidore originated from the Greek language and culture, and it dates back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek words "isos" and "doron," which together mean "equal gift." The name was initially given to children who were considered a blessing or a gift from the gods.
In the early days of Christianity, the name gained popularity due to its association with Saint Isidore of Seville, a renowned scholar and theologian who lived from 560 to 636 AD. He was a prolific writer and is regarded as one of the last great philosophers of the ancient world. His extensive works covered subjects such as history, etymology, and theology, earning him the title "The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Isidore can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius, who mentioned an Isidorus from Alexandria in his work "The Life of the Caesars." This suggests that the name was in use during the Roman Empire period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Isidore. Here are five examples:
1. Isidore of Miletus (circa 530 AD), a Greek mathematician and architect who is credited with constructing the Hagia Sophia, one of the most renowned architectural marvels of the Byzantine era.
2. Isidore of Seville (560-636 AD), the aforementioned scholar and theologian, whose extensive writings influenced the development of education and culture in medieval Europe.
3. Isidore of Pelusium (circa 365-435 AD), a renowned monk and theologian from Alexandria, known for his extensive correspondence on theological and moral issues.
4. Isidore of Kiev (1385-1463), a prominent Eastern Orthodox saint and monk who played a significant role in the development of Russian monasticism.
5. Isidore the Farm Laborer (circa 1070-1130), a Spanish peasant canonized by the Catholic Church for his piety and devotion to his work and family.
The name Isidore has been used across various cultures and time periods, often associated with individuals who made significant contributions to scholarship, religion, and the arts.
People
Isidore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isidore as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Isidore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isidore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 717 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isidore going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 478,040 US residents.
Is Isidore a common name?
We classify Isidore as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isidore most popular?
The single biggest year for Isidore was 1919, when 183 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isidore is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isidore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 804 people with the name Isidore, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,601 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Isidore in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Isidore?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isidore leans strongly male. 772 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 24 female bearers (3.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Isidore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isidore is White at 49.1%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Hispanic (17.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Isidore most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Isidore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (395 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Isidore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isidore a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isidore in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Isidore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isidore in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Isidore can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Isidore?
Want to know how many people share the name Isidore? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.