Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Irene?
Births per year, rank history and how many Irenes are alive today.
Irene (female), once a common girls' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 997th in 2025 with 34 given the name. The name peaked in 1924, when around 10,000 babies were given the name, the 8th most popular that year. It has declined since 1924; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. Numbers have been rising in recent years. At least 200,000 babies have been named Irene in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Irene you are most likely to meet is around 96 years old. Half of all Irenes born in England and Wales are between 66 and 92, and there are at least 40,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 12% chance that at least one of them will be called Irene.
How many babies are named Irene each year?
Where does Irene rank among girls' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Irene most popular?
Irene peaked in 1924, when around 10,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Irene?
At least 40,000 people named Irene born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Irene?
Most living Irenes are between 66 and 92; the most common age is about 96.
Is Irene becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.