Irvin
Masculine · “green river”
Irvin is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 39,922 boys against 75 girls since 1880.
Irvin is a Scottish river town, shortened. Irvine in Ayrshire sits on a river of the same name, and the surname it produced became an American given name in the nineteenth century.
How old is the name Irvin?
Irvin was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Irvin alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 17,500 people named Irvin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Irvin most popular?
Irvin peaked in 1881, reaching #140 nationally. Today it ranks #1932, 1,792 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Irvine to Irvin
The story of Irvin
Irvine and Irving are Scottish surnames from the Ayrshire town, and they crossed into American given-name use in the nineteenth century. Both spellings were used, and both were taken up in large numbers by Jewish-American families as English-sounding names. Irvin, the shorter form, appears in American registers alongside Irving and peaked around 1918.
Meaningscholars disagree
green river
From the Scottish place name Irvine, on the river of the same name. The river name is British rather than English and is usually read as containing elements meaning 'green' and 'water', though neither is secure. The surname descends from the place.
How the name formed
- Irvine
- Irvin
Related forms: Irvine · Irving
Pronouncing Irvin
UR-vin
Two syllables, stress on the first. Irvin and Irving are said very nearly the same way.
Nicknames for Irvin
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 boys named
- 1918798 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #140reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −9.1%80 in 2025, from 88
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.
Irvin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Irvine in Scottish — spelling variant
- Irving in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Irvins among us
people named Irvin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 21,351 born in 2025 was named Irvin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Irvin 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
Where Irvin is headed
Irvin should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Irvin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Irvin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Scottish town and river stand behind it.
- Irv is a brisk, completely unfussy short form.
- The shorter spelling avoids the -ing ending that dates the alternative.
- Irving is commoner and the two are easily confused.
- The river name's elements are not securely established.
- It is strongly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Irvin
Masculine · #1932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irvins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,500 people named Irvin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Irvin in 2025?
- Irvin ranks #1932 among US boy names in 2025, with 80 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Irvin?
- About 1 in every 21,351 US boys born in 2025 was named Irvin — 80 in all.
- Will my child share the name Irvin with classmates?
- Irvin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Irvin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Cristofer#1932 · Zaidyn#1932 · Fred#1932 · Kolbe#1932 · Aj#1932 · Colston#1932 · Jacques#1932 · Cosmo#1932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Irvin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Irvin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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