Irene — #638 US girls' name
355,004 babies named Irene in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 96% of names given to girls today.
26% of everyone ever named Irene was born in this single decade.
10,624 babies were named Irene in 1921 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Irene
The Social Security Administration has registered 355,004 babies named Irene between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Irene currently holds the #638 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 10,624 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Irene performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 92,836 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Irene shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 34,604 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Irene in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Irene in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 355,004 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Irene at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Irene popularity over time — girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1921)
- 10,624
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #638 among girls.
355,004 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1921 with 10,624 births in a single year.
Irene popularity over time — boys
1,350 total births recorded since 1888 (Irene as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Irene accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Irene by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 92,836 births that decade — 26% of Irene's all-time total
Irene decade highlights
- Peak decade 92,836 births
- Runner-up 68,968 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Irene's strongest decade
92,836 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 26% of all-time use.
Irene by state
Where Irene concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 34,604 | 9.7% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 25,576 | 7.2% |
| #3 | California | | 25,143 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 19,246 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 17,733 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 13,869 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 13,556 | 3.8% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 12,991 | 3.7% |
34,604 of 355,004 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 9.7% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 7.2% of nationwide
- California 7.1% of nationwide
- Texas 5.4% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.0% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 9.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Irene appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Irene
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.