Meaning: Its source is Eirene, a Greek name meaning "Peace."

Languages: This girl's name is used in English, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Alternative Spellings: Irina, Iryna and Eirena

Variant Forms: Erena

Popularity: The name Irena ranked 1803rd in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Narrative: This was the name of the Greek goddess of peace. Until the 20th century, it was commonly pronounced in three syllables (i-REE-nee).

This was changed through the combined popularity of a series of two-syllable influences: dancer Irene Castle (1893-1969), a popular musical comedy called Irene, and Goodnight, Irene, a plaintive folk ballad by Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter, 1888-1949).

Multiple Tony Award-winning actress Irene Worth (born Hattie Adams in 1916) is a notable preserver of the three-syllable pronunciation.