Iris
Feminine · Greek roots · “Rainbow”
Iris is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 101,550 girls against 770 boys since 1880. See Iris as a boy name
In Homer's Iliad, Iris is the messenger who travels the rainbow between the gods and the world below. Both the flower and the colored ring of the eye were named after her, for their range of color — so the word turns up in gardening books, in eye charts, and in Greek poetry alike. Four letters, two syllables, and the same spelling in French, Dutch and Spanish.
How old is the name Iris?
Iris was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Iris alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 76,000 people named Iris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iris most popular?
Iris peaked in 2025, reaching #61 nationally. Today it ranks #61, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ἶρις (Greek) to Iris
The story of Iris
Iris is Greek, both a common noun for the rainbow and the name of the goddess who carried messages along it in early Greek poetry. Latin took the word unchanged, and botanists later applied it to the flower, while Greek medical writers used it for the colored part of the eye. English-speaking parents began using it as a given name in earnest during the Victorian enthusiasm for flower names, alongside Rose and Lily, and it has never gone fully out of use since. It travels well: it charts today in France and in England and Wales, and the Irish-born novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch carried it through much of the twentieth century.
Meaning
Rainbow
From the Greek word iris, 'rainbow'. The flower and the iris of the eye were both named from the same word, for their color.
Cultural footprint
Iris Murdoch (b. 1919) — Booker Prize-winning novelist and philosopher
Iris Apfel (b. 1921) — Fashion icon still starring in campaigns past age 100
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- ἾριςGreek
- IrisLatin
- IrisEnglish
Related forms: Ἶρις (Iris) · Iris · Iris · Iris · Iris · Írisz
Pronouncing Iris
EYE-ris
Two syllables, stress on the first. French speakers say it closer to ee-REESS, with the stress at the end — worth knowing if the name will be used on both sides of the Atlantic.
Nicknames for Iris
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 20253,729 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #61reached in 2025
- Change vs 2022
- +27.1%3,729 in 2025, from 2,935
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Iris in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ἶρις (Iris) in Greek — transliteration
- Iris in French — same name
- Iris in Spanish — same name
- Iris in Dutch — same name
- Iris in German — same name
- Írisz in Hungarian — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE, Office for National Statistics. Sources
Iriss among us
people named Iris are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 431 born in 2025 was named Iris
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sue test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Iris's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sue climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sue's path sketches the road Iris is walking now.
Iris is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Iris is headed
Iris should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Iris beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Iris in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, spelled the way it sounds; almost no one needs it repeated or corrected.
- The same spelling works in French, Spanish, Dutch and German, with only the stress shifting.
- An ordinary English word as well as a name — people already know the flower and the part of the eye.
- A documented record stretching from early Greek poetry to the present, with no long gap in use.
- It offers almost no short forms. A child who wants a nickname will have to improvise one, and most bearers simply go by Iris.
- Said quickly, it can be misheard as 'Irish', and it runs together with surnames that begin with S — try the full name aloud before deciding.
- It is climbing steadily rather than sitting still, so it may feel less uncommon by the time your child reaches school than it does now.
- Expect a lifetime of 'like the flower' as the first thing people say. Most bearers find that an easy thing to live with.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Iris to the vote.
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What they receive
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Iris
Feminine · Greek roots · #61 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Iriss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 76,000 people named Iris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Iris in 2025?
- Iris ranks #61 among US girl names in 2025, with 3,729 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Iris?
- About 1 in every 431 US girls born in 2025 was named Iris — 3,729 in all.
- Will my child share the name Iris with classmates?
- Iris will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Iris
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maya#62 · Leilani#60 · Adeline#59 · Clara#63 · Ruby#64 · Leah#58 · Lillian#57 · Alice#65
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iris? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Iris and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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