Irene

/aɪˈɹiːn/

//aɪˈɹiːn// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"irene" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Irene” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,054. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,054
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ; equivalent to the Roman goddess Pax.

Corpus desk

Index EN-irene · Irene · English

Irene · rank #11,054 · 6 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,054
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Irving

Nearest frequency peer: Irving (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Irene”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Irene” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Irene vs iron
40% similar
Irene vs irony
40% similar
Irene vs irons
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Irene
PropertyValue
HeadwordIrene
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/aɪˈɹiːn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,054
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Irene”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Irenelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Irving” (#11,055), “JA” (#11,056), “instability” (#11,051). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “Irene” is #11,054. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around Irene (IPA /aɪˈɹiːn/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #11,054 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Irene, with forms such as "ierne", "ireen", and "irenne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "iron", "irony", "irons", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is Irene, spelled I-R-E-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ; equivalent to the Roman goddess Pax.
  2. 2
    14 Irene, a main belt asteroid.
  3. 3
    A female given name from Ancient Greek, in regular use since the 19th century.
  4. 4
    A city and town in South Dakota, United States.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Irene appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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.
  2. "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."

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.

This word in other languages

Irene(Español)Irène(Français)Irene(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ierne
  • ireen
  • irenne
  • irnee
  • irrene
  • riene

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Irene - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ierne2ireen2irenne1irnee2irrene1riene2
Edit distance from "Irene"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Irene"?
"Irene" is spelled I-R-E-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /aɪˈɹiːn/.
What does "Irene" mean?
As a proper noun, "Irene" means: Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ; equivalent to the Roman goddess Pax.
What words are commonly confused with "Irene"?
"Irene" is commonly confused with "iron", "irony", "irons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Irene"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Irene" is /aɪˈɹiːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Irene"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Irene", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Klein#11,059macro#11,066fills#11,032ebook#11,026

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

jong6 variantslitter6 variantslump6 variantsfunk6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list