Baby Names US
boys' name ★ peaked 1918

Irving

Meaning fresh Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1,783 Trend → Stable

Variant of the Scottish habitational surname Irvine, probably from a Celtic word cognate with Welsh ir, yr (“fresh”) + afon (“river”).

Rank 2025
#1,783
among boys · ↓159 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
90
named Irving · -14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 18,979
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1918
1,538 babies
All-time total
44,449
#542 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Irving popularity over time

44,449 babies have been named Irving 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
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 654 654 65 – #170
1890s – 903 903 90 +38% #140
1900s – 1,524 1,524 152 +69% #114
1910s 15 10,737 10,752 1,075 +606% #93
1920s 62 11,898 11,960 1,196 +11% #116
1930s 8 4,239 4,247 425 -64% #207
1940s – 2,933 2,933 293 -31% #328
1950s – 2,403 2,403 240 -18% #391
1960s – 1,466 1,466 147 -39% #558
1970s – 883 883 88 -40% #715
1980s – 1,204 1,204 120 +36% #522
1990s – 1,928 1,928 193 +60% #551
2000s – 1,770 1,770 177 -8% #817
2010s – 1,240 1,240 124 -30% #1,259
2020s (to 2025) – 582 582 97 -22% #1,624

Where Irving is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 88 0.05 outside top 500
2027 87 0.05 outside top 500
2028 86 0.05 outside top 500
2029 85 0.05 outside top 500
2030 84 0.05 outside top 500

Where Irving is most popular

Boys named Irving per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.057 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and Arizona.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Irving 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 92 0.101 +77%
Texas 81 0.092 +62%
Arizona 14 0.086 +51%
North Carolina 12 0.047 -17%
Colorado 6 0.046 -18%
Illinois 11 0.043 -24%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -26%
Washington 6 0.037 -35%
New Jersey 7 0.035 -39%
New York 14 0.032 -43%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
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 Irving

Irving is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,783 in 2025 with 90 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 44,449 American babies have been named Irving. Its peak came in 1918, when 1,538 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

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 Irving stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Irving?

The median living Irving is about 42 years old; half are between 23 and 71. An estimated 13 thousand people named Irving are alive in the United States today.

median 42 020406080100

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

Irving 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 – – 90 #1,783
2024 – – 105 #1,624
2023 – – 97 #1,721
2022 – – 104 #1,659
2021 – – 94 #1,731
2020 – – 92 #1,699
2019 – – 120 #1,456
2018 – – 123 #1,423
2017 – – 141 #1,287
2016 – – 139 #1,308
2015 – – 100 #1,605
2014 – – 113 #1,448
2013 – – 129 #1,332
2012 – – 115 #1,442
2011 – – 121 #1,379
2010 – – 139 #1,259
2009 – – 139 #1,267
2008 – – 159 #1,143
2007 – – 179 #1,051
2006 – – 181 #1,018
2005 – – 177 #981
2004 – – 183 #925
2003 – – 214 #817
2002 – – 187 #876
2001 – – 160 #962
2000 – – 191 #840
1995 – – 165 #838
1990 – – 220 #684
1985 – – 73 #1,085
1980 – – 91 #940
1975 – – 82 #908
1970 – – 132 #715
1965 – – 111 #706
1960 – – 201 #558
1955 – – 248 #469
1950 – – 298 #391
1945 – – 266 #364
1940 – – 292 #335
1935 – – 353 #288
1930 8 #3,486 643 #207
1925 8 #3,844 1,174 #141
1920 7 #4,169 1,485 #116
1915 5 #4,587 1,385 #107
1910 – – 272 #118
1905 – – 148 #142
1900 – – 115 #185
1895 – – 110 #140
1890 – – 69 #193
1885 – – 78 #170
1880 – – 60 #203

Famous people named Irving

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

  1. 1 Irving Berlin Irving Berlin American songwriter (1888–1989) 19th century
  2. 2 Irving Thalberg Irving Thalberg American film producer (1899–1936) 19th century
  3. 3 Irving Kristol Irving Kristol American columnist, journalist, and writer (1920–2009) Contemporary
  4. 4 Irving Fisher Irving Fisher American economist (1867–1947) 19th century
  5. 5 Irving Penn Irving Penn American photographer (1917-2009) Contemporary
  6. 6 Irving Langmuir Irving Langmuir American chemist and physicist (1881–1957) 19th century
  7. 7 Irving Stone American writer (1903–1989) Contemporary
  8. 8 Irving Wallace Irving Wallace American writer (1916–1990) Contemporary
  9. 9 Irving Pichel Irving Pichel American actor and film director (1891–1954) 19th century
  10. 10 Irving Kaplansky Irving Kaplansky Canadian mathematician (1917–2006) Contemporary
  11. 11 Irving Cummings Irving Cummings American actor (1888–1959) 19th century
  12. 12 Irving Saladino Irving Saladino Panamanian long jumper b. 1983 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Irving Jaffee Irving Jaffee American speed skater 1906–1981 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Irving Baxter Irving Baxter American athlete (1876–1957) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Irving?

The median living Irving is about 42 years old. Half of all living Irvings are between 23 and 71 years old.

How many people named Irving are alive today?

An estimated 13 thousand people named Irving are alive in the United States, based on 44,449 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Irving mean?

Variant of the Scottish habitational surname Irvine, probably from a Celtic word cognate with Welsh ir, yr (“fresh”) + afon (“river”).

How popular is the name Irving in 2025?

Irving ranked #1,783 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 90 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Irving?

44,449 babies have been named Irving in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Irving most popular?

Irving peaked in 1918, when 1,538 newborns received the name.

Is Irving a boy or girl name?

Irving is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Irving rising or falling?

Irving has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Irving become more popular?

Irving is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 84 boys named Irving in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Irving?

Well-known people named Irving include Irving Berlin (composer), Irving Thalberg (producer), Irving Kristol (businessperson).

Names like Irving

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

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