Irving
Masculine · “green river”
Irving is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 44,364 boys against 85 girls since 1880.
Irving is a Scottish river town that became, improbably, one of the defining Jewish-American names of the twentieth century — chosen for its English sound rather than for anything in its history.
How old is the name Irving?
Irving was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Irving alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 12,500 people named Irving are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Irving most popular?
Irving peaked in 1911, reaching #93 nationally. Today it ranks #1778, 1,685 places below that high. See the whole 1911 chart.
Irving appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Irvine to Irving
The story of Irving
Irvine and Irving are Scottish surnames from the Ayrshire town, and they crossed into American given-name use in the nineteenth century — helped by Washington Irving, whose surname it was. It was then taken up in very large numbers by Jewish-American families as an English-sounding name for a son whose Hebrew name began with an I or a Y, and it peaked in American records around 1919.
Meaningscholars disagree
green river
From the Scottish place name Irvine in Ayrshire, 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
- Irving
Related forms: Irvine · Irvin
Pronouncing Irving
UR-ving
Two syllables, stress on the first. Irving and Irvin are said very nearly the same way.
Nicknames for Irving
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
- 19181,533 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #93reached in 1911
- Change vs 2022
- −13.5%90 in 2025, from 104
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.
Irving in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Irvine in Scottish — spelling variant
- Irvin in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Irvings among us
people named Irving are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 18,979 born in 2025 was named Irving
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
Irving 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 Irving is headed
Irving 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.
Irving beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Irving 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.
- It carries a specific and traceable piece of Jewish-American history.
- 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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Irving
Masculine · #1778 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irvings are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 12,500 people named Irving are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Irving in 2025?
- Irving ranks #1778 among US boy names in 2025, with 90 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Irving?
- About 1 in every 18,979 US boys born in 2025 was named Irving — 90 in all.
- Will my child share the name Irving with classmates?
- Irving will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Irving
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Makhi#1778 · Haroon#1778 · Jamarion#1778 · Edrick#1778 · Marlin#1778 · Xyleek#1778 · Xion#1778 · Elon#1778
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Irving? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Irving and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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