Irving

Scottish
"green river, sea friend"

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

20 Names Similar to Irving

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Irving.

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"

International Variations of the name Irving

  • Inek
    Welsh

The name Irving in Nameberry Blog Posts