Irene

See also: irene, írene, and Irène

English

Irene astronomical symbol

Etymology

Borrowed from French Irène, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”), name of a goddess of peace, of early Christian saints, and of an 8th-century Byzantine empress. Doublet of Eirini.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪˈɹiːn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn

Proper noun

Irene

1. (Greek mythology) Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ; equivalent to the Roman goddess Pax.
2. (astronomy) 14 Irene, a main belt asteroid.
3. A female given name from Ancient Greek, in regular use since the 19th century.
   • 1653, Jeremiah Burroughs, Irenicum: To the Lovers of Truth & Peace, London: Robert Dawlman, page 267:

     But lest I be thought too literall, give me leave to allegorize upon this Irene. Her name is a Greek name, Εἰρήνη, it signifies peace; we must not dote upon our Irene, our private peace, that the publique should suffer for the sake of it.

   • 1944, A.J.Cronin, The Green Years, Little, Brown, and Company, page 62:

     "And I have such a horrible name. Think of it... Kate. Who would take Kate on a Moonlight Cruise...or out to the Minstrels at the point. If you ever do find me in the company of a strange young man, call me Irene. Promise me."

   • 1993, Oscar Hijuelos:, The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien, →ISBN, page 75:

     Better to consider the love of Irene, the seventh of the sisters, with her most elegant name.

4. A city and town in South Dakota, United States.

Related terms

• irenic (and its related terms)

Translations

female given name

• Belarusian: Іры́на f (Irýna)
• Bengali: আইরিন (airin)
• Breton: Eirene
• Bulgarian: Ири́на f (Irína)
• Catalan: Irene (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 艾琳 (Àilín)

• Czech: Irena (cs) f
• Danish: Irene c
• Dutch: Irene (nl)
• Estonian: Irene (et)
• Faroese: Irena f
• Finnish: Irene (fi)
• French: Irène (fr) f
• Galician: Irene (gl)
• Georgian: ირინა (irina)
• German: Irene (de) f
• Greek: Ειρήνη (el) (Eiríni)

  Ancient: Εἰρήνη f (Eirḗnē)

• Hungarian: Irén (hu), Irénke (hu), Jerne
• Italian: Irene (it) f
• Japanese: アイリーン (Airīn), エイレーネー (Eirēnē) (Eirene)
• Korean: 이레네 (Irene)
• Latin: Irene
• Latvian: Irēna f
• Lithuanian: Irena (lt) f
• Macedonian: Ире́на f (Iréna), Ири́на f (Irína)
• Norwegian: Irene (no)
• Polish: Irena (pl) f
• Portuguese: Irene (pt), Iria
• Romanian: Irina f
• Russian: Ири́на (ru) f (Irína), Айри́н (ru) f (Ajrín) (transliteration)
• Skolt Sami: Iirâšǩ
• Slovak: Irena f
• Spanish: Irene (es) f
• Swedish: Irene (sv) c
• Ukrainian: Іри́на (uk) f (Irýna), Яри́на (uk) f (Jarýna)
• Yakut: Оруунэ (Oruune)

Asteroid

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 司寧星／司宁星 (Sīníngxīng)

• Italian: Irene (it)
• Russian: Ире́на (ru) f (Iréna)

Anagrams

• ERNIE, Ernie

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Irene, borrowed from French Irène, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”). Also from Irenea.

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name
2. (Greek mythology) Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ
3. (astronomy) the asteroid 14 Irene

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Irene.

Anagrams

• Ernie

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name

References

• [1] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 24 029 females with the given name Irene have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1940s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌiˈreː.nə/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Ire‧ne
• Rhymes: -eːnə

Proper noun

Irene f

1. a female given name

Anagrams

• Ieren

Estonian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name

Finnish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈirene/, [ˈire̞ne̞]
• Rhymes: -irene
• Syllabification^(key): I‧re‧ne

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name
   • 1978, Tuovi Saarenpää, Kihlat, Weilin + Göös, →ISBN, page 69:

     Jo lapsuudessa he olivat olleet erilaisia, ei olisi sisaruksiksi uskonut. Ja oli kuin äitikin olisi vaistonnut ja tajunnut sen heti alusta alkaen, kun antoi heille, sisaruksille, niin erilaiset nimet. Mikä nyt olisi ollut tavallisempi nimi kuin Elvi? Vaikka eihän se ollut nykyään enää tavallinenkaan, vanhanaikainen se oli, ei sellaista nimeä tavannut enää juuri kellään. Kun taas Irene―sehän soinnahti heti niin hienosti. Eräällä prinsessallakin taisi olla sellainen nimi. Ja Irene oli aina ollut nimensä mittainen.

     Already in childhood they had been different, and one would be hard-pressed to believe they were siblings. The mother had already realized it and given them, the siblings, so different names. What could have been a more mundane name than Elvi? Even if it wasn't mundane anymore, it was old-fashioned, a name nobody had anymore, while Irene―had such a pleasant ring. A certain princess had such a name, perhaps. Irene had always been worthy of her name.

   • 1984, Veronica Pimenoff, Loistava Helena, Tammi, →ISBN, page 280:

     Tytär oli nimetön. Helena ei ollut halunnut valita nimeä etukäteen jostakin luettelosta. Hän oli ajatellut että kunhan hän näkee lapsen, hän tietää mikä sen nimi on. Ei hän tiennyt, mikään nimi ei tuntunut sille sopivalta. Sampo oli ehdottanut Ireneä tytön nimeksi enemmän sen merkityksen kuin äänneasun vuoksi. Helena toisti nyt tämän nimen ääneen kuin sovittaakseen sitä lapselle mutta ei tuo tuntunut sopivan.

     The daughter was yet unnamed. Helena didn't want to pick a name from a list in advance. She had thought that whenever she saw the child, she will know what the correct name will be. But she didn't. No name seemed correct. Sampo had suggested Irene as the name more due to what it meant than how it sounded. Helena kept repeating the name out loud as if to see if it would fit, but it did not seem to.

Declension

Inflection of Irene (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative		Irene	Irenet
genitive		Irenen	Irenejen
partitive		Ireneä	Irenejä
illative		Ireneen	Ireneihin
		singular	plural
nominative		Irene	Irenet
accusative	nom.	Irene	Irenet
	gen.	Irenen
genitive		Irenen	Irenejen Ireneinrare
partitive		Ireneä	Irenejä
inessive		Irenessä	Ireneissä
elative		Irenestä	Ireneistä
illative		Ireneen	Ireneihin
adessive		Irenellä	Ireneillä
ablative		Ireneltä	Ireneiltä
allative		Irenelle	Ireneille
essive		Irenenä	Ireneinä
translative		Ireneksi	Ireneiksi
abessive		Irenettä	Ireneittä
instructive		—	Irenein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of Irene (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Ireneni Ireneni accusative nom. Ireneni Ireneni gen. Ireneni genitive Ireneni Irenejeni Ireneinirare partitive Ireneäni Irenejäni inessive Irenessäni Ireneissäni elative Irenestäni Ireneistäni illative Ireneeni Ireneihini adessive Irenelläni Ireneilläni ablative Ireneltäni Ireneiltäni allative Irenelleni Ireneilleni essive Irenenäni Ireneinäni translative Irenekseni Ireneikseni abessive Irenettäni Ireneittäni instructive — — comitative — Ireneineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Irenesi Irenesi accusative nom. Irenesi Irenesi gen. Irenesi genitive Irenesi Irenejesi Ireneisirare partitive Ireneäsi Irenejäsi inessive Irenessäsi Ireneissäsi elative Irenestäsi Ireneistäsi illative Ireneesi Ireneihisi adessive Irenelläsi Ireneilläsi ablative Ireneltäsi Ireneiltäsi allative Irenellesi Ireneillesi essive Irenenäsi Ireneinäsi translative Ireneksesi Ireneiksesi abessive Irenettäsi Ireneittäsi instructive — — comitative — Ireneinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Irenemme Irenemme accusative nom. Irenemme Irenemme gen. Irenemme genitive Irenemme Irenejemme Ireneimmerare partitive Ireneämme Irenejämme inessive Irenessämme Ireneissämme elative Irenestämme Ireneistämme illative Ireneemme Ireneihimme adessive Irenellämme Ireneillämme ablative Ireneltämme Ireneiltämme allative Irenellemme Ireneillemme essive Irenenämme Ireneinämme translative Ireneksemme Ireneiksemme abessive Irenettämme Ireneittämme instructive — — comitative — Ireneinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Irenenne Irenenne accusative nom. Irenenne Irenenne gen. Irenenne genitive Irenenne Irenejenne Ireneinnerare partitive Ireneänne Irenejänne inessive Irenessänne Ireneissänne elative Irenestänne Ireneistänne illative Ireneenne Ireneihinne adessive Irenellänne Ireneillänne ablative Ireneltänne Ireneiltänne allative Irenellenne Ireneillenne essive Irenenänne Ireneinänne translative Ireneksenne Ireneiksenne abessive Irenettänne Ireneittänne instructive — — comitative — Ireneinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative Irenensä Irenensä accusative nom. Irenensä Irenensä gen. Irenensä genitive Irenensä Irenejensä Ireneinsärare partitive Ireneään Ireneänsä Irenejään Irenejänsä inessive Irenessään Irenessänsä Ireneissään Ireneissänsä elative Irenestään Irenestänsä Ireneistään Ireneistänsä illative Ireneensä Ireneihinsä adessive Irenellään Irenellänsä Ireneillään Ireneillänsä ablative Ireneltään Ireneltänsä Ireneiltään Ireneiltänsä allative Irenelleen Irenellensä Ireneilleen Ireneillensä essive Irenenään Irenenänsä Ireneinään Ireneinänsä translative Irenekseen Ireneksensä Ireneikseen Ireneiksensä abessive Irenettään Irenettänsä Ireneittään Ireneittänsä instructive — — comitative — Ireneineen Ireneinensä

Related terms

• Irina

Statistics

• Irene is the 230^th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 2,451 female individuals (and as a middle name to 19,551 more, making it more common as a middle name), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

Anagrams

• Eerin

German

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈʁeːnə/
• Hyphenation: Ire‧ne

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name from Ancient Greek

Related terms

• Irina

Italian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈrɛ.ne/
• Rhymes: -ɛne
• Hyphenation: I‧rè‧ne

Proper noun

Irene f

1. a female given name

Anagrams

• Erine, ernie

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /iːˈreː.neː/, [iːˈreːneː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /iˈre.ne/, [iˈrɛːne]

Proper noun

Īrēnē f sg (genitive Īrēnēs); first declension

1. Irene (Greek goddess of peace, Latin equivalent: Pax)

Declension

First-declension noun (Greek-type), singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	Īrēnē
Genitive	Īrēnēs
Dative	Īrēnae
Accusative	Īrēnēn
Ablative	Īrēnē
Vocative	Īrēnē

References

• Irene in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Norwegian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Proper noun

Irene

1. a female given name

Related terms

• Eirin, Iren

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /iˈɾe.ni/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /iˈɾe.ni/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /iˈɾe.ne/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /iˈɾɛ.nɨ/

• Hyphenation: I‧re‧ne

Proper noun

Irene f

1. a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Irene

Related terms

• Iria

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈɾene/ [iˈɾe.ne]
• Rhymes: -ene
• Syllabification: I‧re‧ne

Proper noun

Irene f

1. a female given name from Ancient Greek

Swedish

Alternative forms

• Irène

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Irene c (genitive Irenes)

1. a female given name

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• [2] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 47 739 females with the given name Irene living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1930s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Anagrams

• Reine

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Irene, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔajˈɾin/, [ʔaɪ̯ˈɾin]
• Hyphenation: I‧rene

Proper noun

Irene (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔ᜇᜒᜈ᜔)

1. a female given name from English