girls' name ★ peaked 1921

Irene

Meaning peace Gender Girl Rank 2025 #651 Trend → Stable

Borrowed from French Irène, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”), name of a goddess of peace, of early Christian saints, and of an 8th-century Byzantine empress.

Rank 2025
#651
among girls · ↓16 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
442
named Irene · -5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,636
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1921
10,657 babies
All-time total
356,812
#104 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Irene popularity over time

356,812 babies have been named Irene since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 4,002 5 4,007 401 – #63
1890s 13,621 51 13,672 1,367 +241% #34
1900s 23,656 96 23,752 2,375 +74% #20
1910s 68,968 194 69,162 6,916 +191% #16
1920s 92,836 356 93,192 9,319 +35% #17
1930s 44,448 250 44,698 4,470 -52% #33
1940s 31,822 146 31,968 3,197 -28% #73
1950s 26,978 102 27,080 2,708 -15% #92
1960s 15,451 48 15,499 1,550 -43% #187
1970s 8,289 36 8,325 833 -46% #275
1980s 7,104 55 7,159 716 -14% #291
1990s 5,969 6 5,975 598 -17% #385
2000s 5,153 – 5,153 515 -14% #459
2010s 4,465 – 4,465 447 -13% #588
2020s (to 2025) 2,700 5 2,705 451 +1% #620

Where Irene is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 442 0.27 outside top 500
2027 442 0.27 outside top 500
2028 442 0.27 outside top 500
2029 441 0.27 outside top 500
2030 441 0.27 outside top 500

Where Irene is most popular

Girls named Irene per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.275 per 1,000. Strongest in Alaska, Minnesota, and California.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Irene born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alaska 6 0.697 +154%
Minnesota 64 0.593 +116%
California 435 0.517 +88%
Washington 73 0.505 +84%
Oregon 30 0.461 +68%
Wisconsin 45 0.437 +59%
Hawaii 5 0.436 +59%
Virginia 64 0.375 +37%
Texas 287 0.357 +30%
Oklahoma 26 0.353 +29%
South Dakota 5 0.350 +28%
New York 135 0.341 +24%
North Carolina 77 0.338 +23%
Indiana 47 0.335 +22%
Pennsylvania 78 0.330 +20%
Arizona 44 0.314 +14%
Michigan 56 0.307 +12%
Illinois 70 0.306 +11%
New Jersey 55 0.305 +11%
Georgia 68 0.299 +9%
Maryland 31 0.293 +7%
Ohio 69 0.291 +6%
Colorado 30 0.269 ≈ national
Massachusetts 28 0.232 -16%
Connecticut 12 0.206 -25%
Missouri 24 0.199 -27%
Alabama 17 0.181 -34%
Nebraska 6 0.167 -39%
Florida 71 0.166 -40%
Utah 11 0.132 -52%
Kansas 7 0.121 -56%
Tennessee 19 0.120 -56%
Nevada 5 0.108 -61%
Iowa 6 0.103 -63%
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Irene

Irene is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #651 in 2025 with 442 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 356,812 American babies have been named Irene. Its peak came in 1921, when 10,657 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Irene stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Irene?

The median living Irene is about 68 years old; half are between 47 and 80. An estimated 104 thousand people named Irene are alive in the United States today.

median 68 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Irene year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 442 #651 – –
2024 465 #635 – –
2023 435 #675 5 #12,962
2022 448 #661 – –
2021 438 #674 – –
2020 472 #620 – –
2019 469 #633 – –
2018 466 #639 – –
2017 508 #588 – –
2016 444 #659 – –
2015 453 #629 – –
2014 432 #663 – –
2013 439 #644 – –
2012 437 #652 – –
2011 406 #692 – –
2010 411 #695 – –
2009 484 #625 – –
2008 483 #638 – –
2007 468 #636 – –
2006 496 #588 – –
2005 491 #580 – –
2004 531 #536 – –
2003 475 #581 – –
2002 546 #504 – –
2001 573 #487 – –
2000 606 #459 – –
1995 610 #426 – –
1990 686 #385 – –
1985 669 #352 8 #4,873
1980 850 #291 9 #4,283
1975 723 #315 – –
1970 1,072 #275 5 #5,034
1965 1,556 #211 – –
1960 2,035 #187 8 #3,199
1955 2,433 #147 10 #2,666
1950 3,825 #92 14 #2,069
1945 2,883 #97 10 #2,317
1940 3,394 #73 29 #1,263
1935 3,940 #52 21 #1,518
1930 6,464 #33 38 #1,145
1925 9,440 #19 32 #1,290
1920 10,072 #17 24 #1,569
1915 8,323 #17 16 #1,832
1910 3,281 #21 12 #956
1905 2,357 #24 6 #1,164
1900 2,264 #31 9 #940
1895 1,428 #43 5 #1,168
1890 893 #60 – –
1885 376 #82 – –
1880 204 #102 – –

Famous people named Irene

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Irene Cara Irene Cara American singer and actress (1959–2022) Contemporary
  2. 2 Irene Ryan Irene Ryan American actress (1902–1973) Contemporary
  3. 3 Irene Dunne Irene Dunne American actress (1898–1990) 19th century
  4. 4 Irene Bedard Irene Bedard Native American actress (born 1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Irene Papas Irene Papas Greek actress and singer (1929–2022) Contemporary
  6. 6 Irene Irene South Korean singer (born 1991) Contemporary
  7. 7 Irene of Athens Irene of Athens Byzantine empress regnant from 797 to 802 752–803 · Medieval
  8. 8 Irene Montero Irene Montero Spanish politician b. 1988 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Irene Khan Irene Khan Bangladeshi British academic and lawyer b. 1956 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Irene Paredes Irene Paredes Spanish footballer (born 1991) Contemporary
  11. 11 Irene Worth Irene Worth American actress (1916–2002) Contemporary
  12. 12 Irene Doukaina Irene Doukaina Byzantine empress from 1081 to 1118 1066–1138 · Medieval
  13. 13 Irene of Hungary Irene of Hungary Byzantine empress from 1104 to 1134 1088–1134 · Medieval
  14. 14 Irene Sharaff Irene Sharaff American costume designer 1910–1993 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Irene Rich Irene Rich American actress (1891–1988) 19th century
  16. 16 Irene Angelina Queen of Sicily (1193) and Germany (1198–1208) 1181–1208 · Medieval
  17. 17 Irene of Montferrat Irene of Montferrat Byzantine Empress consort (c. 1274–1317) Medieval
  18. 18 Irene Escolar Irene Escolar Spanish actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  19. 19 Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond Empress and Autocrat of all the East and Perateia 1315–1341 · Medieval
  20. 20 Irene Asanina Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire 1400–1354 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Irene, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Irene?

The median living Irene is about 68 years old. Half of all living Irenes are between 47 and 80 years old.

How many people named Irene are alive today?

An estimated 104 thousand people named Irene are alive in the United States, based on 356,812 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Irene mean?

Borrowed from French Irène, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”), name of a goddess of peace, of early Christian saints, and of an 8th-century Byzantine empress.

How popular is the name Irene in 2025?

Irene ranked #651 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 442 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Irene?

356,812 babies have been named Irene in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Irene most popular?

Irene peaked in 1921, when 10,657 newborns received the name.

Is Irene a boy or girl name?

Irene is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Irene rising or falling?

Irene has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Irene become more popular?

Irene looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 441 girls named Irene in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Irene?

Well-known people named Irene include Irene Cara (actor), Irene Ryan (actor), Irene Dunne (actor).

Names like Irene

Names that sound and feel close to Irene: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Irene with similar names → More names starting with I →