Given name
Irène
“the goddess Eirene”
Irène is a feminine given name. It is used in French and Swedish.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Irène goes back to Latin Irene, meaning “the goddess Eirene.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
In Swedish use, Irène is a variant of Irene. An origin associated with Irene is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
In Swedish use, Irène is a variant of Irene. The history of Irene gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Irene is associated with the goddess of peace.
Explained through its name family
Irène’s family of names
In French usage, Irène has a later derivative in Irene. In French usage, Irène has a conventional equivalent in the Finnish form Irina. In Swedish usage, Irène has a related form in Irene.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Irène has relatives in 24 languages.
11 related names in 24 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- IrinaFinnish
- IrenaPolish, Czech
- Ireenequivalent
- IrenNorwegian
- Irénaequivalent
- ИрэнRussian
- ΕιρήνηGreek
- Irainaequivalent
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People named Irène
- Irène Joliot-CurieFrench chemist and physicist (1897–1956)
- Irène NémirovskyFrench novelist (1903–1942)
- Irène JacobFrench-born Swiss actressborn 1966
- Irene Palaiologina of TrebizondEmpress consort then empress regnant of Trebizond (1315-1341)
- Irene Asaninaempress consort of John VI Kantakouzenos/Byzantine Empire1301–1354
- Irene LekapeneEmpress consort of Peter I of Bulgaria901–901
- Irene FernandezMalaysian human rights activist (1946–2014)
- Irene KantakouzeneWife of Serbian despot1400–1457
- Irène TuncFrench actress (1935-1972)1934–1972
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.