Irene (), sometimes written Irini, is derived from εἰρήνη, the Greek word for "peace". Eirene was the Greek goddess of peace and of the spring season.
Irene was also the name of an 8th-century Byzantine empress (Irene of Athens), as well as the name of several saints (see Saint Irene).
Variants
Airin (Indonesian) Arina (Russian) Arisha (Russian) Eireen (English, Irish) Eirena (English) Eirene (English, Greek) Eirini (Greek) Eraina (English) Erayna (English) Erea (Galicia) Erene (English) Ereni (Greek) Eriny (Greek, similar to the pronunciation of) Ira (Indonesian, Russian, Ukrainian) Ireen (English) Iren (English) (Indonesian) Irén (Hungarian) Irena (Albanian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian) Irene (Dutch, German, English, Italian, Latvian, Spanish, Portuguese) Irène (French) Irenea (Spanish) Irenka (Czech, Polish, Slovak) Iria (Galician, Portuguese) Iriana (English) Iriana, Irene (Indonesian) Iriena (English) Irin (English) Irini (Albanian) Irina (Bulgarian, Finnish, Romanian, Russian) Irine (English) Irina (Russian, Romanian) Irinka (Russian) Irishka (Russian, Ukrainian) Irinushka (Russian) Irisha (Russian) Irja (Finnish) Irka (Czech) Iryna (English, Ukrainian) Irynka (Ukrainian) Irynochka (Ukrainian) Reeni (English) Reeny (English) Rena (English, Indonesian, Greek) Rene (English) Reney (English) Reni (English, Indonesian) Renie (English) Rina (Indonesian, Russian) Yarina (Russian) Yaryna (Ukrainian) Yeran (Armenian) Yeranouhi (Armenian)
People with the given name
Irene, baptismal name of Tzitzak (died 750), wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Irene of Athens (c. 752 – 803), wife of Byzantine Emperor Leo IV and empress regnant, 797–802 Irene of Hungary (1088–1134), empress consort of John II Komnenos of the Byzantine Empire Irene Angelina (fl. late 1100s) Irene Choumnaina (1291 – ) Irene Palaiologina (fl. 1310), illegitimate daughter of Andronikos II Palaiologos, wife of John II Doukas of Epirus Irene Shpata (14th century), Albanian Princess of Arta and Despotess consort of Epirus Irene Dushmani (15th century), Albanian Princess of Zadrima and Pult Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (1904–1974), later Duchess of Aosta, Queen of Croatia Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (1942–2026) Princess Irene of the Netherlands (born 1939) Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (1866–1953) Saint Irene (disambiguation), various saints Eirene (artist), ancient Greek artist Irene (singer) (born 1991), South Korean singer Irene Abel (born 1953), East German gymnast Irene Abendroth (1872–1932), Austrian operatic soprano Irene Abrigo (born 1988), Italian violinist Irene Adams (born 1947), Scottish politician Irene Aebi (born 1939), Swiss singer, violinist and cellist Irene Aguilar (born 1960), American politician Irene Agyepong (born 1960), Ghanaian public health physician Irene Ajambo (born 1987), Ugandan weightlifter Irene Zoe Alameda, Spanish writer, filmmaker and composer Irene Osgood Andrews (1879–1963), American writer Irene Ang (born 1969), Singaporean actress, comedian, host and entrepreneur Irene Angelico, Canadian film director, producer and writer Irene Kataq Angutitok (1914–1971), Inuk sculptor Irene Arcos (born 1981), Spanish actress Irene Aronson, German-American painter Irene Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever (1919–2001), English philanthropist Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq (born 1941), Canadian artist Irene Awret (1921–2014), German artist and writer Irene Azuela (born 1979), Mexican actress and producer Irene Bache (1901–1999), British artist Irene Baird, English-Canadian novelist Irene Baker (botanist) (1918–1989), British-born American botanist Irene Baker (1901–1994), American politician Irene Baldessari (born 1993), Italian middle-distance runner Irene Barberis (born 1953), Australian artist Irene Barclay (1894–1989), British surveyor Irene Barros (1930–2021), Indian politician Irene Bayer-Hecht (1898–1991), American photographer Irene Beardsley (born 1935), American mountaineer Irene Beasley (1904–1980), American singer Irene Blanco Becerra (born 1946), Mexican politician Irene Becker, German nurse and serial killer Irene Bedard (born 1967), Native American actress Irene Beland, American nursing educator and patient-centered care researcher Irene Bell Bonong (born 1995), Cameroonian sprinter Irene Below, German art historian Irene Benneweis (1891–1970), Danish acrobat and circus director Irene Bentley (1870–1940), American actress Irene Berger (born 1954), American judge Irene Bernasconi (1896–1989), Argentine marine biologist Irene Bertschek, German economist Irene Beyeler (born 1985), Swiss sport shooter Irene Beyerlein, American materials scientist Irene Bianucci (1903–1988), Italian-American painter Irene Craigmile Bolam (1904–1982), American banker and former aviator Irene Borrego (born 2001), Mexican weightlifter Irene Bosch, Venezuelan biologist and researcher Irene Mott Bose, American social worker Irene Bridger (21st century), Canadian singer Irene Brietzke (1944–2021), Brazilian actress and theatre director Irene Brin (1911–1969), Italian journalist and writer Irene Britton Smith (1907–1999), American classical composer Irene Broe (1923–1992), Irish sculptor Irene Brown (1919–2017), British code breaker Irene Bennett Brown, American author Irene Browne (1891–1965), British actress Irene Mary Browne (1881–1977), British artist Irene Bucher, Swiss orienteering competitor Irene Bürgi, Swiss curler Irene Burillo Escorihuela (born 1997), Spanish tennis player Irene Burns, American television producer Irene Bustamante Adams, American politician Irene Butter, German-born American economist and holocaust survivor Irene Byers (1906–1992), English novelist, poet and children's writer Irene Caba Alba (1905–1957), Spanish actress Irene Cabrera Lorenzo, Spanish former volleyball player Irene Cadurisch (born 1991), Swiss biathlete Irene Calvert (1909–2000), Northern Irish politician and economist Irene Camber (1926–2024), Italian fencer Irene Campbell, Scottish Labour politician Irene Capek (1924–2006), Australian politician Irene Cara (1959–2022), American singer, songwriter, and actress Irene Castelli (born 1983), Italian gymnast Irene Aragón Castillo (born 1963), Mexican politician Irene Castle (1893–1969), half of the ballroom dance team of Vernon and Irene Castle Irene Cefaro (1935–2023), Italian stage and film actress Irene Champlin (1932–1990), American actress Irene Chang, Malaysian politician Irene Chanter, British singer Irene Charalambidou (born 1964), Cypriot journalist and politician Irene Charnley (born 1960), South African businesswoman Irene Chen, Australian actress Irene Cheng (1904–2007), Hong Kong educationalist Irene Chepet Cheptai (born 1992), Kenyan distance runner Irene Chou (1924–2011), Chinese artist Irene Clarin (born 1955), German television and theatre actress Irene Clark Durrell (1852–1914), American educator Irene Clark, Navajo weaver Irene V. Clark (1927–1984), American artist Irene Coates (1925–2019), English playwright, poet, painter, feminist and environmentalist Irene Collins (1925–2015), British historian and writer Irene Colvin Corbett (1881–1912), American nurse and musician who died on the Titanic Irene Condachi (1899–1970), Maltese physician Irene Cortes (1921–1996), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Irene Cortes (artist), filmmaker and artist Irene Costa (born 1972), Portuguese politician and social worker Irene Cozad (1888–1970), American pianist, piano teacher and composer Irene Crespin (1896–1980), Australian geologist and micro paleontologist Irene Cruz, Spanish photographer and video artist Irene Cruz-González, Mexican astronomer Irene Cuadrado (born 1979), Spanish painter Irene Cuesta (born 1983), Spanish archer and archery coach Irene Curtoni (born 1985), Italian alpine skier Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale (1896–1966), British hereditary peeress Irene Cybulsky, Canadian lawyer and cardiac surgeon Irene Dailey (1920–2008), American actress Irene Dalby (born 1971), Norwegian swimmer Irene Dalis (1925–2014), American opera singer Irene Dallas (1883–1971), British suffragette Irene Dalton (1901–1934), American actress Irene Dare, American figure skater and film star Irene Daw (1941–2010), British sports shooter Irene Daye (1918–1971), American jazz musician Irene Dean-Williams (1903–1946), aviator Irene DeBari (born 1947), American television actress Irène Debrunner (born 1952), Swiss swimmer Irene DeLaby (1922–2012), American baseball player Irène Deliège (1933–2024), Belgian cognitive scientist Irene Delroy (1900–1985), American stage actress Irene Desmet (1928–2020), English pediatric surgeon Irene Devin, Wyoming politician Irene Diaz, American singer-songwriter Irene Dick (born 1949), Curaçaoan politician Irene Caroline Diner Koenigsberger (1896–1985), American chemist Irene Dingel (born 1956), German historian and Protestant theologian Irene Dische (born 1952), American-Austrian writer Irene Dixon (1924–2021), Bletchley Park codebreaker Irene Dölling (born 1942), German sociologist Irene Dorner (born 1954), American businesswoman Irene Doukaina (c. 1066–1138), Empress Consort of the Byzantine Empire Irene Doutney (c. 1949–2018), Australian politician Irène Drésel (born 1984), French electronic music producer Irene Drummond, Australian Army nurse Irene Dubois, American drag performer Irene Dufaux (born 1960), Swiss sport shooter Irene Dunne (1898–1990), American actress Irene Eastman (1894–1918), American singer Irene Eber (1929–2019), Israeli orientalist Irene Edgar (born 1957), Scottish lawn bowler Irene Eijs (born 1966), Dutch rower Irene Eisinger (1903–1994), German-British opera singer and film actress Irene Ekelund (born 1997), Swedish sprinter Irene Ellenberger (born 1946), German architect Irene Emery (1900–1981), American art historian, scholar, curator, textile anthropologist, sculptor, and modern dancer Irene Epple (born 1957), German alpine skier Irene Escolar (born 1988), Spanish actress Irene Esser (born 1991), Venezuelan actress, model and beauty queen Irene Evans, musician and educator Irene Eyaru, Ugandan netball player Irene Fairbairn (1899–1974), Girl Guide Commissioner Irene Falcón (1907–1999), Spanish journalist, feminist, pacifist and communist activist Irene Fargo (1962–2022), Italian singer and actress Irene Fenwick (1887–1936), American actress Irene Ferguson, New Zealand painter Irene Fernandez (1946–2014), Malaysian human rights activist Irene Ferreira (born 1976), Venezuelan model Irene Ferreiro (born 2001), Spanish actress, singer and author Irene Ferri (born 1972), Italian actress and television presenter Irene Fischer (1907–2009), Austrian-American mathematician and geologist Irene Fitzner (born 1955), Argentine sprinter Irene Fonseca (born 1956), Portuguese-American mathematician Irene Foote, several people Irene Forbes (1949–2014), Cuban fencer Irene Fornaciari (born 1983), Italian singer-songwriter Irene Fountas (born 1948), American educational theorist Irène Frain (born 1950), French novelist, journalist and historian Irene Franchini (born 1981), Italian archer Irene Franklin (1885–1941), American actress Irene Hanson Frieze, American psychologist and academic Irene Frisch (1931–2021), American writer Irene Fuhrmann (born 1980), Austrian footballer Irene McCoy Gaines (1892–1964), American social worker and civil rights activist Irene Galitzine (1916–2006), Russian-Georgian fashion designer Irene O. Galloway, American Army soldier Irène Galter (1931–2018), Italian actress Irene M. Gamba, Argentine-American mathematician Irene Gammel (born 1959), Canadian literary historian, biographer and curator