How Many People Are Named Irish?
An estimated 1,287 people in the United States have the first name Irish. It is predominantly female (90.3%). The average bearer is 44 years old, and Irish peaked in popularity in 1960 with 45 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Irish 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 Irish paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
1,287
About 1 in 266,320 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
90.3% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1960
45 births
Total Registered
1,602
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Irish
Irish is predominantly female (90.3%), though 155 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Irish as a male name
Ranked #12,975 in 2024
5 male births in 2024
Peak: 2005 (11 births)
Irish as a female name
Ranked #10,638 in 2023
9 female births in 2023
Peak: 1960 (40 births)
Irish: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Irish span from the 1920s to the 2020s, covering 11 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 302 babies were registered. Irish has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Irish by Decade
How has Irish 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.
Irish by State
Birth registrations for Irish span all 5 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida. The lowest are in Alabama, Virginia, Florida. On average, about 18 Irishs were registered per state.
Irish + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Irish as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Irish
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
Irish: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irish?
We estimate approximately 1,287 people named Irish 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 266,320 Americans share this first name.
Is Irish a common name?
Irish is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 91.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,602 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Irish most popular?
Irish reached peak popularity in 1960, when 45 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Irish is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Irish a female name?
Irish is predominantly female. 90.3% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Irish Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Irish Smith, Irish Johnson, Irish 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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