Irving

Scottish

"green river, sea friend"

Updated Tue Mar 18 2025

Irving Origin and Meaning

The name Irving is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "green river, sea friend".

It might be surprising to know that this name originated as a Scottish place and surname name, as in Washington Irving. It became a popular choice for first-generation Jewish-American boys, such as best-selling authors Irving Stone and Irving Wallace, whose parents looked to surnames from the British Isles to confer a measure of assimilation and class.

Irving Berlin changed his name from Israel; actor Ving Rhames streamlined and coolized it. Irving was a Top 100 name during World War I, and though we don't envision it reaching those heights again, we can see some hipster parents having their own little Ving.

# 985 in the US

Irving Rank in US Top 1000

# 572 on Nameberry

Irving Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Irving

572Nameberry2025
716Unique2023

20 Names Similar to Irving

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Famous People Named Irving

Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Baline)
American composer
Irving Grant Thalberg
American film producer
Washington Irving
American author
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames
American actor
Irving Lester Janis
American research psychologist
Irving Mills (born Isadore Minsky)
American jazz publisher and musician
Irving Caesar
(born Isidor Keiser) American lyricist
Irving Langmuir
American Nobel Prize,winning chemist
Irving Fisher
American economist

The name Irving in Pop Culture

Irving "Irv" Harper
character on TV's "Everwood"
Lloyd Irving
main character of video game "Tales of Symphonia"
Irving Hillman
character in newspaper comic strip "Cathy"
Irving Beaks
a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Harvey Beaks"
Irving
character mentioned in the movie "Chicago," during the "Cell Block Tango" number
Irving Burnside
Jon Arbuckle's next door neighbor in the cartoon show "Garfield and Friends"