Irving
Irving was given to 90 boys in 2025, #1,783 among boys’ names; 44,449 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,800 Americans named Irving and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (27% of everyone recorded); the median is 39 years old and half are between 23 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Irving by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Irving mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Irving is “a male given name transferred from the surname, often used by English-speaking Jews to anglicize Israel.” Its etymology gives the senses “fresh” (yr) and “river” (afon).
Variant of the Scottish habitational surname Irvine, probably from a Celtic word cognate with Welsh ir, yr (“fresh”) + afon (“river”).
/ˈɝ.vɪŋ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Irving?
#1,783 among boys’ names, 2025
Irving fell from #1,605 in 2015 to #1,783 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 52.2 to 52.7 per million.
1,538 babies in 1918, the peak
Irving peaked in 1918, when 1,538 babies were given it (1,533 boys, #108 among boys’ names). The 90 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 90 | #1,783 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 105 | #1,624 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 97 | #1,721 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 104 | #1,659 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 94 | #1,731 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 92 | #1,699 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 120 | #1,456 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 123 | #1,423 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 141 | #1,287 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 139 | #1,308 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | #1,605 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 113 | #1,448 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 129 | #1,332 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 115 | #1,442 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 121 | #1,379 | 0.06 |
| 2010 | 139 | #1,259 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 139 | #1,267 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 159 | #1,143 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 179 | #1,051 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 181 | #1,018 | 0.09 |
| 2005 | 177 | #980 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 183 | #924 | 0.09 |
| 2003 | 214 | #816 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 187 | #875 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 160 | #961 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 191 | #838 | 0.10 |
| 1999 | 140 | #1,002 | 0.07 |
| 1998 | 127 | #1,054 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 131 | #987 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 152 | #888 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 165 | #835 | 0.09 |
| 1994 | 211 | #720 | 0.11 |
| 1993 | 187 | #764 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 255 | #643 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 340 | #551 | 0.17 |
| 1990 | 220 | #682 | 0.11 |
| 1989 | 222 | #669 | 0.11 |
| 1988 | 304 | #522 | 0.16 |
| 1987 | 109 | #900 | 0.06 |
| 1986 | 84 | #1,010 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 73 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 74 | #1,036 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 82 | #974 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 77 | #1,035 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 88 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 91 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 82 | #978 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 79 | #973 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 71 | #1,021 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 77 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 82 | #908 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 69 | #990 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 86 | #856 | 0.06 |
| 1972 | 102 | #793 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 103 | #793 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 132 | #715 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 114 | #733 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 122 | #681 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 133 | #649 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 121 | #674 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 111 | #706 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 139 | #658 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 158 | #623 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 170 | #595 | 0.08 |
| 1961 | 197 | #558 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 201 | #558 | 0.09 |
| 1959 | 175 | #590 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 206 | #534 | 0.10 |
| 1957 | 228 | #510 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 219 | #511 | 0.10 |
| 1955 | 248 | #468 | 0.12 |
| 1954 | 247 | #460 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 243 | #457 | 0.12 |
| 1952 | 253 | #442 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 286 | #402 | 0.15 |
| 1950 | 298 | #390 | 0.17 |
| 1949 | 283 | #400 | 0.16 |
| 1948 | 290 | #398 | 0.17 |
| 1947 | 320 | #384 | 0.17 |
| 1946 | 277 | #392 | 0.17 |
| 1945 | 266 | #364 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 267 | #369 | 0.20 |
| 1943 | 325 | #340 | 0.23 |
| 1942 | 296 | #355 | 0.21 |
| 1941 | 317 | #328 | 0.26 |
| 1940 | 292 | #335 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 322 | #310 | 0.29 |
| 1938 | 322 | #305 | 0.29 |
| 1937 | 338 | #292 | 0.32 |
| 1936 | 340 | #293 | 0.33 |
| 1935 | 353 | #288 | 0.34 |
| 1934 | 422 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1933 | 408 | #260 | 0.41 |
| 1932 | 508 | #237 | 0.49 |
| 1931 | 583 | #215 | 0.56 |
| 1930 | 643 | #207 | 0.59 |
| 1929 | 754 | #185 | 0.70 |
| 1928 | 879 | #166 | 0.79 |
| 1927 | 1,021 | #155 | 0.91 |
| 1926 | 1,159 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1925 | 1,174 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1924 | 1,260 | #137 | 1.1 |
| 1923 | 1,384 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1922 | 1,365 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1921 | 1,417 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1920 | 1,485 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1919 | 1,440 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1918 | 1,533 | #108 | 1.5 |
| 1917 | 1,470 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1916 | 1,373 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1915 | 1,385 | #107 | 1.6 |
| 1914 | 1,156 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1913 | 862 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 1912 | 815 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1911 | 431 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 1910 | 272 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1909 | 202 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1908 | 225 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1907 | 196 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1906 | 170 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1905 | 148 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1904 | 159 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1903 | 125 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1902 | 104 | #168 | 0.85 |
| 1901 | 80 | #181 | 0.75 |
| 1900 | 115 | #185 | 0.76 |
| 1899 | 95 | #158 | 0.89 |
| 1898 | 113 | #150 | 0.92 |
| 1897 | 98 | #158 | 0.87 |
| 1896 | 87 | #188 | 0.73 |
| 1895 | 110 | #140 | 0.94 |
| 1894 | 102 | #151 | 0.88 |
| 1893 | 95 | #155 | 0.85 |
| 1892 | 59 | #229 | 0.48 |
| 1891 | 75 | #173 | 0.74 |
| 1890 | 69 | #193 | 0.62 |
| 1889 | 65 | #201 | 0.59 |
| 1888 | 89 | #170 | 0.74 |
| 1887 | 55 | #208 | 0.54 |
| 1886 | 60 | #219 | 0.54 |
| 1885 | 78 | #170 | 0.72 |
| 1884 | 80 | #176 | 0.70 |
| 1883 | 46 | #233 | 0.44 |
| 1882 | 61 | #208 | 0.54 |
| 1881 | 60 | #192 | 0.60 |
| 1880 | 60 | #203 | 0.54 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Irving a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Irving has been given almost only to boys: 85 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Irving: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Irving, and how old are they?
11,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 27% of the 44,449 Americans ever recorded as Irving. The median Irving alive today is 39 years old; half are between 23 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 14,717 people named Irving (61 women and girls, 14,656 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,190 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% 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 | 1,140 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,840 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,380 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,520 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,440 |
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 Irving born?
The states with the most babies named Irving are New York, California and Illinois, with 55% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 14,889 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| California | 2,756 | #976 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 2,420 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 2,088 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Massachusetts | 2,005 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,551 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Texas | 1,384 | #1,270 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 1,186 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Connecticut | 916 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Virginia | 845 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Irving is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Irving is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 4.0 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 boys’ 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 Irving with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Irving
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Irving and names like it
- Compare Irving and AlphonseBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sIrving peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Irving since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Irving: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Irving.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Irving alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with IMost given first.