Eirene
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "peace".
Name Census estimates that about 234 living Americans carry the first name Eirene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eirene today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eirene births was 2019 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eirene. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Eirene with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
234
~ 1 in 1,464,762 Americans
Peak year
2019
18 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,063
Tracked since 1971
Census
Eirene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Eirene, which placed it at #29,744 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eirene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eirene is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.1%) and Hispanic (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eirene described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eirene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.9% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander30.1% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino14.9% · 44
- Black or African American7.8% · 23
- Two or more races2.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Eirene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eirene from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 105 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eirene remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eirene by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Eirene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eirenes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eirene
The given name Eirene has its linguistic origins in Ancient Greek, where it was spelled Εἰρήνη (Eirēnē). This name is derived from the Greek word εἰρήνη (eirēnē), meaning "peace" or "tranquility." It was a popular name in ancient Greek culture, reflecting the high value placed on peace and harmony.
Eirene was also the name of the ancient Greek goddess of peace, one of the 24 Horae (Hours) in Greek mythology. She was often depicted holding a scepter or a cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity and abundance that comes with peace. References to the goddess Eirene can be found in various ancient Greek texts, such as the works of Homer and Hesiod.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Eirene was Eirene of Athens, a Greek noble woman who lived in the 5th century BCE. She was the daughter of Cleinias and the wife of the renowned Athenian statesman and military leader Callias.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Eirene of Thessalonica (c. 320–349 CE), a Christian martyr and saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. She was born in Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki, Greece) and was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantius II for her unwavering commitment to Christianity.
In the Byzantine Empire, Eirene Sarantapechaina (c. 1088–1134) was an influential noblewoman and writer. She was the daughter of the sebastokrator Isaac Komnenos and is known for her literary works, including poetry and hagiographies (biographies of saints).
Eirene Palaiologue (c. 1349–1362) was a Byzantine princess and the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. She was betrothed to the future Ottoman Sultan Murad I, though the marriage never took place due to her untimely death.
Another notable bearer of this name was Eirene Ouellemotte (1639–1713), a French mystic and writer who lived in the 17th century. She was known for her spiritual writings and her advocacy for the Poor Clares, a religious order of women.
Throughout history, the name Eirene has been associated with peace, tranquility, and harmony, reflecting its ancient Greek origins and the symbolism of the goddess it was derived from. While its popularity may have fluctuated over time, it has remained a name with deep cultural significance and a connection to the ideals of peace and serenity.
People
Eirene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eirene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eirene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eirene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 234 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eirene going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,464,762 US residents.
Is Eirene a common name?
We classify Eirene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eirene most popular?
The single biggest year for Eirene was 2019, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eirene is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eirene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Eirene, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eirene in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eirene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eirene leans strongly female. 295 people counted with this name were female (97.7%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eirene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eirene is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.1%) and Hispanic (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eirene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eirene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (130 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eirene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eirene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eirene in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Eirene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eirene in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eirene can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Eirene?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.