Irelyn
A feminine name of unknown origin possibly meaning "green meadow" or "peaceful meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 1,546 living Americans carry the first name Irelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Irelyn today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irelyn births was 2008 (176 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irelyn. 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
- • Irelyn is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 221,704 Americans
Peak year
2008
176 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,457
Tracked since 1996
Census
Irelyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,210 people with the first name Irelyn, which placed it at #10,835 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,835
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,210 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irelyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irelyn is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Irelyn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Irelyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 1,004
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 84
- Two or more races6.4% · 78
- Black or African American2.2% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
Popularity
Irelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Irelyn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 706 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Irelyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Irelyn 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 Irelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Irelyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Irelyn, while Virginia, Oregon, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Irelyn
The given name Irelyn is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from the combination of the Irish name Erin and the English name Helen. Its origins can be traced back to the late 20th century, with the earliest recorded use appearing in the United States.
While the name Erin has its roots in the Gaelic term "Éirinn," meaning "Ireland," and has been a popular name for Irish girls for centuries, the addition of the suffix "-lyn" is a more recent development. This suffix is commonly found in English names such as Marilyn, Carolyn, and Evelyn, and is thought to have been introduced to create a more feminine and melodic sound.
There are no known historical references or mentions of the name Irelyn in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the late 20th century. However, its components, Erin and Helen, have a rich history and cultural significance.
Erin, as mentioned earlier, is deeply connected to Irish heritage and has been a popular name for Irish girls throughout history. Helen, on the other hand, has its origins in Greek mythology, being the name of the famously beautiful woman whose abduction by Paris sparked the Trojan War.
While the name Irelyn is relatively new, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this name throughout history:
1. Irelyn Sheehan (born 1986) - An American professional soccer player who played as a midfielder for several teams in the National Women's Soccer League.
2. Irelyn Rose (born 1989) - An American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her role in the Broadway musical "Wicked."
3. Irelyn Malloy (born 1995) - A Canadian actress and model, recognized for her work in various television shows and films.
4. Irelyn Gomez (born 2001) - A Spanish-American child prodigy and author, who published her first book at the age of 8.
5. Irelyn Winters (born 1977) - An American entrepreneur and philanthropist, known for her work in promoting women's empowerment and education.
While the name Irelyn is relatively new, its unique blend of Irish and English influences has contributed to its growing popularity in recent years, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
People
Irelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irelyn 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
Irelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,546 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irelyn 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 221,704 US residents.
Is Irelyn a common name?
We classify Irelyn as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,561 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Irelyn was 2008, when 176 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irelyn is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Irelyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,210 people with the name Irelyn, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,835 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Irelyn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Irelyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Irelyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,208 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Irelyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irelyn is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Irelyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Irelyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (1,004 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Irelyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Irelyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irelyn in the SSA data are female. 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 Irelyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Irelyn 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 Irelyn 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.
How many people are called Irelyn?
You can see how many Americans are named Irelyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.