Irina
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 2,243 living Americans carry the first name Irina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Irina today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irina births was 2024 (135 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irina. 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
- • Irina is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 152,811 Americans
Peak year
2024
135 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,567
Tracked since 1944
Popularity
Irina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Irina from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 739 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Irina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Irina 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 Irina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Irinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Irina, while Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Irina
The name Irina is of Greek origin, derived from the word "eirene," meaning "peace." It first emerged in the Byzantine Empire during the 4th century AD and was popularized among Eastern Orthodox Christians.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing this name was Irina of Athens, a Byzantine empress who lived in the 8th century AD. She was married to Leo IV the Khazar and played a significant role in the restoration of the veneration of icons during the Byzantine Iconoclasm.
In the 11th century, Irina Doukaina was a Byzantine princess who married Alexios I Komnenos, becoming the Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She was known for her intelligence and her efforts to secure the succession of her son, John II Komnenos, to the throne.
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, Irina Godunova was a Russian noblewoman and the fifth wife of the tsar. She was known for her efforts to reconcile the tsar with his estranged son, Ivan Ivanovich.
In the 18th century, Irina Mikhailovna Buninskaya was a Russian noble and lady-in-waiting to Empress Catherine the Great. She was a prominent figure in the cultural and social circles of St. Petersburg and was renowned for her literary talents.
Another notable bearer of the name was Irina Nikolayevna Romanova, a Russian grand duchess and the only daughter of Tsar Nicholas I. She was born in 1819 and was known for her philanthropic work, particularly her support for the establishment of schools and hospitals.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Irina, which has been popular in various cultures and regions throughout history, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition.
People
Irina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irina 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
Irina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irina 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 152,811 US residents.
Is Irina a common name?
We classify Irina as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irina most popular?
The single biggest year for Irina was 2024, when 135 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irina is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Irina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irina 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.
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.