Irl
An English masculine name derived from a shortened form of Irish.
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Irl. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Irl today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irl births was 1921 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irl. 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
- • The typical person named Irl is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Irls were born before 1960.
People living today
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
1921
19 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1970 SSA rank
#4,459
Tracked since 1887
Census
Irl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Irl, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irl is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Irl 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 Irl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 198
- Two or more races3.2% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 6
- Black or African American1.8% · 4
Popularity
Irl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Irl from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 132 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Irl 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 Irl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Irls live
Origin
Meaning and history of Irl
The name Irl is derived from the Old Irish word "Erland" or "Iarla," which means "earl" or "noble." It has its roots in the ancient Celtic culture of Ireland, dating back to the early Middle Ages.
In the Gaelic tradition, the name Irl was often associated with nobility and leadership. It was a common name among the ruling clans and families of Ireland, particularly in the northern regions.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Irl can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle that dates back to the 15th century. The annals document the lives and activities of various Irish kings, lords, and influential figures throughout history.
One notable figure who bore the name Irl was Irl Ua Báigill, a renowned Irish poet and scholar who lived in the 11th century. He was known for his mastery of the Irish language and his contributions to the preservation of ancient Irish literature.
Another historical figure named Irl was Irl Ua Madadhain, a powerful Irish chieftain who ruled over parts of County Derry in the 12th century. He was a prominent figure during the Norman invasion of Ireland and played a significant role in the resistance against the Norman forces.
In the 14th century, Irl Ua Mordha was a renowned Irish physician and philosopher. He was highly respected for his knowledge of traditional Irish medicine and his contributions to the field of philosophy.
During the 16th century, Irl O'Neill was a notable Irish chieftain and military leader. He was a member of the powerful O'Neill dynasty and played a crucial role in the Nine Years' War against English forces in Ireland.
Irl O'Farrell, born in the late 18th century, was an Irish patriot and revolutionary who fought for Irish independence. He was a member of the Society of United Irishmen and participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
While the name Irl has its roots in ancient Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world and has been adopted by various cultures and communities over the centuries.
People
Irl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irl 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
Irl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irl 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Irl a common name?
We classify Irl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 554 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irl most popular?
The single biggest year for Irl was 1921, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irl is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Irl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Irl, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Irl 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 Irl?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Irl leans strongly male. 208 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 7 female bearers (3.3%). 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 Irl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irl is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Irl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Irl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (198 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 Irl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Irl a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irl 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 Irl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Irl 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 Irl 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 common is the name Irl?
See how many Americans are named Irl on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.