Irish
Feminine · “of Ireland”
Irish is given to both — 1,453 girls and 155 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Irish is an adjective doing a name's job, which almost no name does. It names a nationality rather than a person, a place or a quality, and its own root goes back further than most people expect: Ireland is named for Ériu, a figure in Irish myth who asked the incoming Gaels to give the island her name, and they did.
How old is the name Irish?
Irish first appears in US birth records in 1924 — 101 years ago. The typical Irish alive today was born around 1970, making them about 55 years old. About 1,200 people named Irish are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Irish most popular?
Irish peaked in 1960, reaching #1789 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 11,419 places below that high. See the whole 1960 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ériu to Irish
The story of Irish
American naming has occasionally taken nationality words directly — Irish, French, Dutch and England all appear in the records — and the pattern is usually the same: a nickname, given to someone for their family or their coloring, that hardened into a name and was passed down. Irish appears in American birth records from the 1920s and is given mostly to daughters, which is unusual for a nickname-name. It is also, quite separately, a common women's name in the Philippines, where English vocabulary words have long been used as given names.
Meaning
of Ireland
The word comes through Old English from the Old Irish name of the island, and behind that is Ériu, one of three sister figures in Irish myth who each ask for the country to be named after them. Hers is the name that stuck, and modern Irish still calls the country Éire.
How the name formed
- Ériu
- Éire
- Irish
Related forms: Éireannach
Pronouncing Irish
EYE-rish
Two syllables, stress on the first, said exactly like the adjective. Nobody who reads English hesitates over it, which is the practical advantage of a word-name.
Nicknames for Irish
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
- 1924
- Most girls named
- 196040 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1789reached in 1960
- Change vs 2021
- +20.0%6 in 2025, from 5
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.
Irish in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Éireannach in Irish — related form
Irishs among us
people named Irish are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Irish
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 Wynne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Irish's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Wynne climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Wynne's path sketches the road Irish is walking now.
Irish sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Irish beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Irish in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it after hearing it once.
- It has a genuine mythological figure at the bottom of it, which few word-names can claim.
- Five letters, two syllables, and it sits well before almost any surname.
- It is recorded for boys as well as girls, though nearly all are girls.
- It is a nationality, and a child who has no Irish family will be asked about it constantly.
- It is read as a common adjective first, so introductions carry a small pause.
- It sits one letter from Iris, and the two will be confused in writing.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Irish to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Irish
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irishs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Irish are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Irish in 2025?
- Irish ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Irish?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Irish — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Irish with classmates?
- Irish will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Irish
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Tressa#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Irish? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Irish and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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