Explore the Family Name Irene

The meaning of Irene

Spanish and Italian: from the female personal name Irene, from Greek Eirēnē ‘peace’. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Juan, Angel, Jose, Manuel.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Irene in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Irene has seen a slight decrease over the years. In 2000, it ranked 51,809 and rose to 54,530 in 2010, marking a decline in popularity by 5.25%. Despite this change in ranking, the count of individuals with the surname remained nearly stable, with only a minor increase from 377 in 2000 to 378 in 2010, showing an overall growth of 0.27%. The proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 also declined by 7.14%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#51,809	#54,530	-5.25%
Count	377	378	0.27%
Proportion per 100k	0.14	0.13	-7.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Irene

When examining the ethnicity associated with the surname Irene, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander more than doubled, surging from 1.86% to 3.44%, representing an increase of 84.95%. The proportion of Hispanics holding the Irene surname grew by 13.37%, from 36.87% in 2000 to 41.80% in 2010. However, the percentage of Whites with this surname decreased by 12.29%, going from 52.79% to 46.30%. Meanwhile, the Black population saw a nearly static rate, with a minor decrease from 6.63% to 6.61%. The counts for American Indian and Alaskan Native, as well as those identifying with two or more races, were suppressed for privacy.

	2000	2010	Change
White	52.79%	46.3%	-12.29%
Hispanic	36.87%	41.8%	13.37%
Black	6.63%	6.61%	-0.3%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.86%	3.44%	84.95%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%