# Irene (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/irene/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “peace” |
| Pronunciation | /aɪˈɹiːn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Reenie |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 356,812 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,350 / 355,462 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 608, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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. Doublet of Eirini.

## What it means

Irene is grouped under peace.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 406 | 692 |
| 2012 | 437 | 652 |
| 2013 | 439 | 644 |
| 2014 | 432 | 663 |
| 2015 | 453 | 629 |
| 2016 | 444 | 659 |
| 2017 | 508 | 588 |
| 2018 | 466 | 639 |
| 2019 | 469 | 633 |
| 2020 | 472 | 620 |
| 2021 | 438 | 674 |
| 2022 | 448 | 661 |
| 2023 | 435 | 675 |
| 2024 | 465 | 635 |
| 2025 | 442 | 651 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 7 | 4,162 |
| 1973 | 6 | 4,746 |
| 1974 | 7 | 4,349 |
| 1976 | 5 | 5,957 |
| 1977 | 6 | 5,410 |
| 1980 | 9 | 4,283 |
| 1981 | 6 | 5,793 |
| 1982 | 7 | 5,260 |
| 1983 | 5 | 6,674 |
| 1984 | 7 | 5,194 |
| 1985 | 8 | 4,873 |
| 1986 | 8 | 5,053 |
| 1989 | 5 | 8,393 |
| 1994 | 6 | 8,160 |
| 2023 | 5 | 12,962 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 1,489 |
| 2012 | 14 | 1,991 |
| 2013 | 29 | 1,177 |
| 2014 | 21 | 1,456 |
| 2015 | 21 | 1,497 |
| 2016 | 24 | 1,370 |
| 2017 | 24 | 1,371 |
| 2018 | 16 | 1,788 |
| 2019 | 27 | 1,218 |
| 2020 | 26 | 1,238 |
| 2021 | 29 | 1,161 |
| 2022 | 24 | 1,326 |
| 2023 | 34 | 1,008 |
| 2024 | 37 | 952 |
| 2025 | 34 | 997 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Իրինա
- Bulgarian: Ири́на
- Catalan: Irene
- Chinese: 艾琳
- Czech: Irena
- Danish: Irene
- Dutch: Irene
- Estonian: Irene
- Finnish: Irene
- French: Irène
- Georgian: ირინა
- German: Irene
- Greek: Ειρήνη
- Hindi: आइरीन
- Hungarian: Irén, Irénke, Jerne
- Italian: Irene
- Japanese: アイリーン, エイレーネー
- Korean: 이레네
- Latin: Irene
- Latvian: Irēna

## People named Irene

- Irène Joliot-Curie, French chemist and physicist (1897–1956)
- Irene Dunne, American actress and singer (1898–1990)
- Irene Cara, American singer and actress (1959–2022)
- Irène Némirovsky, French novelist (1903–1942)
- Irène Jacob, French-born Swiss actress
- Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Dutch princess; second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard (born
- Irene Doukaina, Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire
- Irene Angelina, Byzantine queen (1180-1208)
- Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice of the United K
- Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond, Empress consort then empress regnant of Trebizond (1315-1341)
- Irene Khan, Bangladeshi academic
- Irene Schouten, Dutch speed skater

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.