How Many People Are Named Irene?
An estimated 86,627 people in the United States have the first name Irene. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 60 years old, and Irene peaked in popularity in 1921 with 10,657 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Irene as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Irene paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Irene is overwhelmingly female, 1,350 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Irene has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
86,627
About 1 in 3,957 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
60
years old
Peak Year
1921
10,657 births
Total Registered
356,354
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Irene
Irene is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 356,354 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Irene as a male name
Ranked #12,954 in 2023
5 male births in 2023
Peak: 1928 (43 births)
Irene as a female name
Ranked #638 in 2024
461 female births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (10,624 births)
Irene: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Irene span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 93,192 babies were registered. Irene has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Irene by Decade
How has Irene tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,007 | 5 | 4,002 | |
| 1890s | 13,672 | 51 | 13,621 | |
| 1900s | 23,752 | 96 | 23,656 | |
| 1910s | 69,162 | 194 | 68,968 | |
| 1920s | 93,192 | 356 | 92,836 | |
| 1930s | 44,698 | 250 | 44,448 | |
| 1940s | 31,968 | 146 | 31,822 | |
| 1950s | 27,080 | 102 | 26,978 | |
| 1960s | 15,494 | 48 | 15,446 | |
| 1970s | 8,325 | 36 | 8,289 | |
| 1980s | 7,158 | 55 | 7,103 | |
| 1990s | 5,974 | 6 | 5,968 | |
| 2000s | 5,148 | 0 | 5,148 | |
| 2010s | 4,465 | 0 | 4,465 | |
| 2020s | 2,259 | 5 | 2,254 | |
Irene by State
Birth registrations for Irene span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 6,090 Irenes were registered per state.
Irene + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Irene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Irene
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
Irene: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irene?
We estimate approximately 86,627 people named Irene are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 3,957 Americans share this first name.
Is Irene a common name?
Irene is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 356,354 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Irene most popular?
Irene reached peak popularity in 1921, when 10,657 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Irene is approximately 60 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Irene a female name?
Irene is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Irene Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Irene Smith, Irene Johnson, Irene Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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