Isidore

Despite being associated with Jews in the English-speaking world, Isidore is very much a Christian name in France. Isidore Ducasse, the famous French poet known as the Comte de Lautreamont, was not Jewish.

Isidore (or Isadore) was a common name among Jewish Americans in the early 20th century, who used it as an Americanised form of the names Israel and Isaac. Other such names were Irving and Ira. Though Isidore means "gift of Isis", Isis being an Egyptian goddess, this was not a reason for the Jewish usage of the name. (Nor was it a reason for its usage among Christians, who were naming their sons in honour of Saint Isidore of Seville). Names beginning with "I" such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah are common in Jewish tradition. But there were slimmer pickings when it came to secular American "I" names in the 1900's. So Jewish immigrants named their sons Irving and Isidore in order to Americanise the names but still follow the old tradition of naming a child after a deceased relative (but only the first letter of the name needs to be the same). But because Isidore was already uncommon among the American Christian population, the number of Jewish people using it greatly outnumbered its general popularity in the US and it acquired the connotation of being a Jewish name. Nowadays it is rather uncommon for young people. [noted -ed]

Isidore is also used in Georgia. There, the name is written as: ისიდორე . [noted -ed]

I've seen both Isidore and Isidora used for girls.