Girl · Greek
Iris
Say it: EYE-ris
Meaning
From Greek iris 'rainbow'; Iris was the messenger goddess of the rainbow.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Came into use in the late 19th century with other flower names, though the word is the Greek for 'rainbow'.
Its wave through time
Rising now
In the United States
- 86,838 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 2020, about 1 in 741 girls
- 2,173 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| Greek | Iris |
|---|---|
| German | Iris |
| Dutch | Iris |
| Spanish | Iris |
| French | Iris |
Famous bearers
- Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish novelist
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Ancient Greek literature and history (Homer, Herodotus, Plutarch and others)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.