Irish
The Story of Irish
As a girl name
Irish first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1924, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1960: 40 births, good for #1,789 nationwide. About 20% of every Irish on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. Irish last appeared in the published SSA data in 2023, with 9 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 1K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Irish on the record books as a boy name in 1925, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2005, when 11 Irishs were born — ranking #6,633 that year. About 25% of every Irish on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Irish last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 155 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Irish
Phonetically similar names — useful when Irish is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Irish
What does the name Irish mean?
How popular is Irish in 2026?
When was Irish most popular?
In which U.S. states is Irish most popular?
Is Irish a unisex name?
What names go well with Irish?
About the name Irish
Irish is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1924 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Irish's peak popularity came in 1960 when it ranked #1,789. Use the chart and map above to compare Irish's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1960 →
- Names of the 1960s →
- Names starting with "I" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.