Iris
Iris was given to 3,729 girls in 2025, #61 among girls’ names; 102,320 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 74,400 Americans named Iris and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 21 years old and half are between 7 and 56.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Iris by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Iris mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Iris is “a female given name from Ancient Greek; a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “rainbow” (Ἶρις).
From Ancient Greek Ἶρις (Îris, “rainbow”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Iris?
#61 among girls’ names, 2025
Iris rose from #216 in 2015 to #61 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.85 to 2.3 per 1,000.
3,741 babies in 2025, the peak
Iris peaked in 2025, when 3,741 babies were given it (3,729 girls, #61 among girls’ names). In 2024 it went to 3,136 girls.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,729 | #61 | 2.3 |
| 2024 | 3,136 | #72 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 2,939 | #78 | 1.8 |
| 2022 | 2,935 | #84 | 1.8 |
| 2021 | 2,582 | #107 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | 2,178 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 2019 | 2,196 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 2018 | 2,128 | #138 | 1.3 |
| 2017 | 1,990 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 2016 | 1,751 | #186 | 1.0 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,510 | #216 | 0.85 |
| 2014 | 1,330 | #244 | 0.74 |
| 2013 | 1,251 | #254 | 0.71 |
| 2012 | 1,134 | #281 | 0.64 |
| 2011 | 1,051 | #303 | 0.60 |
| 2010 | 1,011 | #315 | 0.57 |
| 2009 | 1,038 | #316 | 0.57 |
| 2008 | 973 | #342 | 0.51 |
| 2007 | 1,066 | #317 | 0.55 |
| 2006 | 880 | #369 | 0.46 |
| 2005 | 879 | #357 | 0.48 |
| 2004 | 832 | #376 | 0.45 |
| 2003 | 786 | #389 | 0.43 |
| 2002 | 772 | #383 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 733 | #397 | 0.41 |
| 2000 | 685 | #414 | 0.38 |
| 1999 | 674 | #414 | 0.38 |
| 1998 | 570 | #454 | 0.32 |
| 1997 | 481 | #506 | 0.28 |
| 1996 | 453 | #520 | 0.26 |
| 1995 | 491 | #500 | 0.28 |
| 1994 | 519 | #483 | 0.29 |
| 1993 | 539 | #471 | 0.30 |
| 1992 | 564 | #448 | 0.31 |
| 1991 | 641 | #398 | 0.34 |
| 1990 | 610 | #417 | 0.32 |
| 1989 | 541 | #450 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 487 | #463 | 0.27 |
| 1987 | 433 | #499 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 486 | #444 | 0.28 |
| 1985 | 467 | #459 | 0.27 |
| 1984 | 472 | #440 | 0.28 |
| 1983 | 389 | #499 | 0.23 |
| 1982 | 471 | #452 | 0.28 |
| 1981 | 489 | #435 | 0.29 |
| 1980 | 504 | #428 | 0.30 |
| 1979 | 492 | #425 | 0.31 |
| 1978 | 449 | #443 | 0.29 |
| 1977 | 375 | #500 | 0.24 |
| 1976 | 430 | #451 | 0.29 |
| 1975 | 414 | #456 | 0.28 |
| 1974 | 392 | #459 | 0.27 |
| 1973 | 513 | #395 | 0.35 |
| 1972 | 436 | #440 | 0.29 |
| 1971 | 539 | #399 | 0.32 |
| 1970 | 645 | #371 | 0.37 |
| 1969 | 604 | #380 | 0.36 |
| 1968 | 585 | #376 | 0.36 |
| 1967 | 435 | #456 | 0.26 |
| 1966 | 435 | #449 | 0.26 |
| 1965 | 509 | #414 | 0.29 |
| 1964 | 535 | #425 | 0.28 |
| 1963 | 557 | #407 | 0.29 |
| 1962 | 660 | #365 | 0.34 |
| 1961 | 710 | #359 | 0.35 |
| 1960 | 777 | #338 | 0.38 |
| 1959 | 769 | #342 | 0.38 |
| 1958 | 796 | #332 | 0.40 |
| 1957 | 901 | #306 | 0.44 |
| 1956 | 977 | #278 | 0.49 |
| 1955 | 888 | #291 | 0.45 |
| 1954 | 819 | #295 | 0.42 |
| 1953 | 922 | #269 | 0.49 |
| 1952 | 920 | #262 | 0.50 |
| 1951 | 893 | #258 | 0.50 |
| 1950 | 986 | #239 | 0.58 |
| 1949 | 920 | #249 | 0.54 |
| 1948 | 935 | #245 | 0.55 |
| 1947 | 865 | #252 | 0.49 |
| 1946 | 797 | #253 | 0.51 |
| 1945 | 645 | #269 | 0.49 |
| 1944 | 717 | #254 | 0.54 |
| 1943 | 711 | #260 | 0.51 |
| 1942 | 774 | #245 | 0.57 |
| 1941 | 700 | #246 | 0.58 |
| 1940 | 750 | #222 | 0.66 |
| 1939 | 749 | #223 | 0.68 |
| 1938 | 731 | #228 | 0.66 |
| 1937 | 779 | #215 | 0.73 |
| 1936 | 788 | #211 | 0.76 |
| 1935 | 817 | #209 | 0.78 |
| 1934 | 823 | #216 | 0.79 |
| 1933 | 765 | #219 | 0.76 |
| 1932 | 850 | #212 | 0.80 |
| 1931 | 895 | #204 | 0.84 |
| 1930 | 938 | #203 | 0.83 |
| 1929 | 981 | #196 | 0.88 |
| 1928 | 1,010 | #200 | 0.88 |
| 1927 | 1,021 | #198 | 0.86 |
| 1926 | 965 | #199 | 0.81 |
| 1925 | 947 | #208 | 0.78 |
| 1924 | 887 | #219 | 0.71 |
| 1923 | 875 | #218 | 0.73 |
| 1922 | 653 | #255 | 0.54 |
| 1921 | 700 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1920 | 633 | #262 | 0.53 |
| 1919 | 677 | #245 | 0.60 |
| 1918 | 655 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1917 | 617 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1916 | 577 | #253 | 0.55 |
| 1915 | 563 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1914 | 425 | #253 | 0.56 |
| 1913 | 310 | #264 | 0.50 |
| 1912 | 220 | #309 | 0.39 |
| 1911 | 173 | #301 | 0.41 |
| 1910 | 143 | #319 | 0.36 |
| 1909 | 138 | #311 | 0.40 |
| 1908 | 131 | #310 | 0.39 |
| 1907 | 136 | #301 | 0.43 |
| 1906 | 123 | #303 | 0.42 |
| 1905 | 100 | #339 | 0.34 |
| 1904 | 84 | #358 | 0.31 |
| 1903 | 65 | #395 | 0.25 |
| 1902 | 52 | #431 | 0.20 |
| 1901 | 46 | #436 | 0.19 |
| 1900 | 62 | #426 | 0.21 |
| 1899 | 44 | #441 | 0.19 |
| 1898 | 52 | #429 | 0.20 |
| 1897 | 56 | #388 | 0.24 |
| 1896 | 49 | #412 | 0.21 |
| 1895 | 44 | #431 | 0.19 |
| 1894 | 28 | #550 | 0.13 |
| 1893 | 28 | #524 | 0.13 |
| 1892 | 29 | #507 | 0.14 |
| 1891 | 25 | #516 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 19 | #609 | 0.10 |
| 1889 | 20 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1888 | 17 | #619 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 10 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 12 | #678 | 0.08 |
| 1885 | 15 | #563 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 14 | #570 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 7 | #783 | 0.06 |
| 1882 | 5 | #963 | 0.05 |
| 1881 | 8 | #649 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 11 | #531 | 0.12 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Iris a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Iris has been given almost only to girls: 770 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Iris: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Iris, and how old are they?
74,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 102,320 Americans ever recorded as Iris. The median Iris alive today is 21 years old; half are between 7 and 56.
The 2020 Census counted 80,798 people named Iris (80,410 women and girls, 388 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 62,004 born in the U.S. The Census count is 30% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,020 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 12,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 7,240 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,910 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 29,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Iris born?
The states with the most babies named Iris are California, Texas and Ohio, with 26% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 432 | #61 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 378 | #64 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 165 | #45 | 0.7× |
| New York | 158 | #88 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 158 | #50 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 155 | #110 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 133 | #65 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 128 | #64 | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 122 | #28 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 107 | #58 | 0.7× |
Where Iris is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Iris is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Iris with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 103,177 babies since 1880, Iris is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,741 of their 3,777 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
More about Iris and names like it
- Compare Iris and IraisBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sIris peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Iris since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Iris: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Iris.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Iris alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with IMost given first.