Iris

What Iris means

Means “rainbow”

From Ancient Greek Ἶρις (Îris, “rainbow”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Iris” (revision 93487247), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Iris?

US: Rising: up from #216 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #102 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 3,729 girls got the name (#61 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 431 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 334 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 471 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (12.33 per 1,000 girls), AK (10.89 per 1,000 girls), VT (9.24 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Iris is #61 in the US and #57 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.7% of US babies named Iris were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Eris128 US · 15 E&W
• Aris78 US · 3 E&W
• Aeris64 US · 4 E&W
• Airis44 US · 3 E&W
• Ares29 US
• Irys19 US
• Irsa6 US · 13 E&W
• Irais17 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Iris

Girls

• Opal#423Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,110 in 2015, #423 in 2025
• Magnolia#124Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #634 in 2015, #124 in 2025
• Ophelia#264possibly “help, aid, succour”^*
• Elena#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #106 in 2015, #42 in 2025. 5 letters, starting with a vowel
• Briar#400Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #835 in 2015, #400 in 2025
• Athena#109Editor’s note Up from #157 in 2015 to #109 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Theo#82Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #405 in 2015, #82 in 2025
• August#81“month of August”^*
• Niko#325Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1962, with 5 babies
• Ambrose#735“immortal, divine”^*
• Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
• Royal#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #2,014 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Iris’s. Rank is US 2025.