Girls' name · since 1880
Irena
Irena has 2,186 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2024 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #4,439 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #5,240 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,186
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
2,186 babies have been named Irena since 1880, making it today's #5240 girls' name.
Irena has 2,186 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #5240 as of the latest data, more common than 70% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #4,439 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #5,240 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 2,186 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Irena ranks #4,439 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,240 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,186 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #4,439 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #5,240 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,186
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Irena's 2,186 recorded births place it above 93.85% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 4 jurisdictions, led by California.
How Irena compares
2,186 Top 22% higher than 78% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Irena's all-time total is 6x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Irena | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,186 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 34 | 21 | 19,840 |
Irena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Irena's full recorded timeline at 1955, 63% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 37% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1894, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2024 peak of 34 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Irena popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2024)
- 34
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Irena by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (276 births, 13% of the file).
2010s was Irena's strongest decade.
276 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 13% of all-time use.
Irena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 50
1880s
50 births
- 1890s 84
1890s
84 births
- 1900s 104
1900s
104 births
- 1910s
1910s
181 births
- 1920s
1920s
146 births
- 1930s 96
1930s
96 births
- 1940s 91
1940s
91 births
- 1950s
1950s
126 births
- 1960s
1960s
137 births
- 1970s
1970s
172 births
- 1980s
1980s
167 births
- 1990s
1990s
212 births
- 2000s
2000s
183 births
- 2010s
2010s
276 births
- 2020s
2020s
161 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 276 births (13% of all-time use).
How Irena compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Irena's total volume
Irena by state
Where Irena concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 88 | 4.0% |
| #2 | New York | | 63 | 2.9% |
| #3 | Maryland | | 5 | 0.2% |
| #4 | New Jersey | | 5 | 0.2% |
88 of 2,186 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 4 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Irena's data
- Irena's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (276 total births) through the 2020s (161) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Irenas (88 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Irena
Nearby Names Like Irena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Irena
Compare Irena side by side: Irena vs Irene Irena vs Ireland Irena vs Irelynn
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Irena
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Irena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2024)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Irena draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.