Irad
A Hebrew name meaning "wild ass" or "untamed".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Irad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Irad today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irad births was 2023 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irad. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Irad. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2023
5 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,951
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Irad: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Irad by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Irad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Irad
The name Irad is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name "Irad" mentioned in the Book of Genesis. It is believed to have emerged during ancient times, potentially around the 3rd millennium BCE.
The name Irad is thought to be derived from the Hebrew root word "iyr," which means "town" or "city." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who hailed from a particular town or urban settlement.
In the Book of Genesis, Irad is mentioned as a descendant of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve. He is described as the son of Enoch and the father of Mehujael. This biblical reference is one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Irad.
While the name is not widely popular, there have been a few notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Irad:
1. Irad Malkin (1973 - ), an Israeli-American historian and academic, known for his work on ancient Greek colonization and cultural exchange.
2. Irad C. Milligan (1838 - 1925), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th Governor of Indiana from 1885 to 1889.
3. Irad Hawley (1743 - 1826), an American soldier and politician who served as a lieutenant colonel during the American Revolutionary War and later as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly.
4. Irad Rickert (1859 - 1941), an American businessman and industrialist who founded the Rickert-Shafer Realty Company in Chicago.
5. Irad Cockrell (1791 - 1873), an American politician who served as a member of the Texas Legislature and as a Confederate officer during the American Civil War.
While the name Irad is not as common as some other biblical names, its historical significance and connection to ancient Hebrew roots have contributed to its enduring use throughout various periods and cultures.
People
Irad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irad as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Irad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irad going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Irad a common name?
We classify Irad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irad most popular?
The single biggest year for Irad was 2023, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irad is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Irad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Irad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irad in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Irad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Irad in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Irad can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Irad?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.