Irene
Top 1000
About Irene
Serene Irene, the name of the Greek goddess of peace and one of the most familiar Greek goddess names, was hugely popular in ancient Rome and again in the United States a hundred years ago.
One of the most popular names of the Roman Empire and the name of several early saints, this originally Greek name (then spelled Eirene) represented a daughter of Zeus who was the goddess of peace. Often pronounced with three syllables, it spread throughout Europe in a range of variations and is a royal name in Greece, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Much of Irene's popularity in England stemmed from the character Irene Forsyte in Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga (pronounced eye-reen-ee). Americans identified it with the sparkling Irene Dunne of Hollywood's Golden Age. Irene was a Top 20 name from 1915 to 1925, remaining in the Top 100 until 1945. It still highly popular in Spain.
Some other references include the eponymous early smash hit Broadway musical, famed ballroom dancer Irene Castle (portrayed on film by Ginger Rogers), the Hollywood costume designer known simply as Irene, the Uma Thurman character in Gattaca, Irene Denholm the Harry Potter student at Hogwarts School, and the lullaby-ready song Goodnight, Irene.
Pronounced eye-REEN; ih-RAY-nee.
As of October 2026, Irene ranked #651 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #16 in 1919, Nameberry popularity #124.
Editor's take: The name Irene is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "peace".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #663 | 432 | 241.8 |
| 2015 | #629 | 453 | 253.8 |
| 2016 | #659 | 444 | 250.6 |
| 2017 | #588 | 508 | 294.2 |
| 2018 | #639 | 466 | 273.9 |
| 2019 | #633 | 469 | 279.4 |
| 2020 | #620 | 472 | 292 |
| 2021 | #674 | 438 | 266.9 |
| 2022 | #661 | 448 | 273.1 |
| 2023 | #675 | 435 | 271.1 |
| 2024 | #638 | 461 | 284.5 |
| 2025 | #651 | 442 | 275 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Irene.
- Claudia
- Helena
- Antonia
- Magdalena
- Lucinda
- Miriam
- Rosalind
- Sylvia
- Georgiana
- Diana
- Francesca
- Constance
- Tabitha
- Veronica
- Augusta
- Esther
- Cornelia
- Theodora
- Lucille
- Gwendolyn
Irene on lists
Famous Irenes
- Irene
stage name of Bae Joohyun; rapper, dancer, singer, and leader of South Korean girl group Red Velvet
- Irene Marie Dunne
American actress
- Irene Bordoni
Corsican French singer
- Irene Cara (Escalera)
American singer
- Irene Castle
American ballroom dancer
- Irene Joliot
Curie, French scientist, daughter of Marie Curie
- Irene Urdangarian y Bourbon
daughter of Infanta Cristina of Spain
- Irene (Lentz)
American costume designer
- Irene Vanbrugh
English actress
- Irene Vernon
American actress
- Irene Frances Rich
American actress
- Irene of Athens
Byzantine Empress
- Irene Papas
Greek actress
- Irene Handl
English actress
- Irene Worth (born Harriet Elizabeth Abrams)
American actress, pronounced it "eye,ree,nee"
- Irene Ryan (born Jessie Irene Noblett)
American actress
- Irene Angelina
Queen consort of Sicily and Germany
- Irene Mathyssen
Canadian MP
- Irene Morgan
American civil rights activist
- Emily Irene VanCamp
Canadian actress
- (Sze) Irene Ng
Malaysian,born American actress
Irene in pop culture
- Irene Adler
character in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series
- Irene Heron (pr. Eye
ree,nee), character in John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga
- Irene Cassini
character in movie "Gattaca"
- Irene Lorenzo
character on TV's "All in the Family"
- Princess Irene
character in "The Princess and the Goblin" by George MacDonald (pronounced eye,ree,nee in its 1991 film adaptation)
- Irene Lapham
character in "The Rise of Silas Lapham" by William Dean Howells
- Irene
Queen of Attolia, character in The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
- Irene Denholm
character in the Harry Potter series
- Irene Frederick
character on TV's "Warehouse 13"
- Irene the Concierge
character on TV's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
- Lady Irene
character in Aphmau's YouTube series
- "Irene
" 1940s movie
- Goodnight Irene
American folk song
- Irene
main character in The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
- Irene Larra Girón
character on tv series "El Ministerio del Tiempo"
- Irene P. Waters
character in the 2000 Jim Carrey movie "Me,Myself & Irene"