Irina (

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: Ирина) is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene ( Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of peace. It is mostly used in countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Balkans.

Diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

forms in Slavic languages include Ira, Irinka, Irinushka, Irisha, Irka, Irochka, Irinochka.

Origin

Irina is connected with Irene of Macedonia who was the first woman recognized by the church as a

great martyr A great martyr (also spelled greatmartyr or great-martyr) or megalomartyr (from Byzantine Greek , , from , 'great' + , 'martyr'; cu, великомꙋ́ченикъ; ro, mare mucenic; ka, დიდმოწამე) is a classification of s ...

. She was born pagan as Penelope and later baptized as Irene. Some sources refer to her being baptized by Saint Timothy, in which case she lived in the 1st–2nd century, while others date her death in the year 315. Opinions also differ about the location of her birthplace, the city of Magedon, placing it either in Persia or in Migdonia (

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

).The Holy Great-Martyress Irene
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Baltimore, US

Notable people with this name

Nobility and politics

* Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (1895-1970) * Irina Khakamada (b. 1955), Russian politician * Irina von Wiese (b. 1967), British politician * Irina Walker, daughter of King Michael I of Romania * Irina Yusupova, Russian princess

Arts and music

* Irina Allegrova, Russian singer * Irina Antonenko, Miss Russia 2010 * Irina Arkhipova, Soviet and Russian opera singer * Irina Ionesco, French photographer * Irina Iordachescu, Romanian soprano opera singer * Irina Rimes, Moldavian-Romanian singer and songwriter * Irina Saari, Finnish pop singer, better known by her mononym Irina * Irina Toneva, Russian pop singer * Irina Zahharenkova, Estonian and Finnish concert pianist.

Actresses and models

* Irina Dvorovenko, Ukrainian-American ballet dancer and actress *

Irina Hudova Irina Hudova (17 June 1926 — 20 July 2015) was a Finnish ballerina and dance pedagogue, notable for having served as the Director of the Finnish National Ballet as well as the first Professor of Dance in Finland. Education Hudova, who was of ...

, Finnish ballet dancer and teacher * Irina Pantaeva, Siberian fashion model and actress * Irina Shayk, model originally from Russia * Irina Voronina, Playboy Playmate originally from Russia *

Irina Lazareanu Irina ( Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of p ...

, Romanian-born Canadian model

Sports

* Irina Alexeeva, Russian gymnast *

Irina Baskakova Irina Baskakova (born August 25, 1956) is a retired track and field sprinter from the Soviet Union, known for winning the bronze medal in the women's 4x400 metres relay at the 1982 European Championships. She did so alongside Irina Olkhovnikova ...

, Soviet track and field sprinter *

Irina-Camelia Begu Irina-Camelia Begu (born 26 August 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 22 in the world, in August 2016. Two years later, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking, also No. 22. Begu ...

, Romanian tennis player *

Irina Bespalova Irina Nikolayevna Bespalova (born May 31, 1981) is a female butterfly swimmer from Russia, who represented her native country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, PR China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a ...

, Russian butterfly swimmer * Irina Deleanu, Romanian former individual rhythmic gymnast *

Irina Kostyuchenkova Irina Kostyuchenkova (russian: link=no, Ирина Костюченкова; 11 May 1961 – 31 March 2023) was a javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union, and later Ukraine. Kostyuchenkova was born in Chelyabinsk. She is best known for w ...

, Ukrainian javelin thrower * Irina Krush, chess player *

Irina Lashko Irina Lashko (russian: Ирина Лашко; born 25 January 1973, in Samara) is a Russian diver who, after her marriage with an Australian, became known as Irina Furler. Lashko competed in four Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (f ...

, Russian-born Australian diver *

Irina Loghin Irina Loghin (born February 19, 1939) is a Romanian singer and politician, known as the best-selling artist from her domain in Romania. Born in Gura Vitioarei, Prahova County, she had a career as a folk music soloist. She made her radio debut in ...

, Romanian folk singer * Irina Mikitenko, Kazakhstan-born German long-distance runner, former winner of both the Berlin and London marathons * Irina Podyalovskaya, Soviet middle distance runner *

Irina Ponarovskaya Irina Vitalyevna Ponarovskaya (russian: link=no, Ирина Витальевна Понаровская; born 12 March 1953 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian singer and film actress, popular in the 1980s and the 1990s. Biography Ponarovskaya ...

, Soviet and Russian singer * Irina Press, Soviet 2x Olympic champion (80-m hurdles &

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

) * Irina Rodnina, Soviet figure skater *

Irina Sazonova Irina Sazonova (born ) is a Russian-born Icelandic female artistic gymnast, currently representing Iceland at international competitions. Prior to her move to Iceland, she represented Russia at the 2011 Summer Universiade. She represented Iceland ...

, Russian-Icelandic gymnast * Irina Serova (born 1966), Austrian-Soviet badminton player * Irina Slutskaya, Russian world champion figure skater * Irina Tebenikhina, Russian volleyball player *

Irina Ufimtseva Irina Ufimtseva (russian: Ирина Уфимцева; born 6 January 1985) is a former Olympics freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from Russia. She swam for Russia at the Russia at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics where she was part of ...

, Russian freestyle swimmer

Other

* Irina Gaidamachuk (born 1972), prolific Russian serial killer *

Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko (russian: Ири́на Никола́евна Ле́вченко; 15 March 1924 – 8 January 1973) was a medic turned tank officer in the Red Army during World War II who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union ...

(1924–1973), Russian tank commander * Irina Livezeanu (born 1952), Romanian-born American historian * Iryna Senyk (1926–2009), Ukrainian poet, nurse, and Soviet political dissident *

Irina Tsvila Iryna Volodymyrivna Tsvila (; 29 April 1969 – 25 February 2022) was a Ukrainian teacher, activist for the far-right ultranationalist All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" and photographer, who participated in the Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo ...

(1969–2022), Ukrainian teacher, public activist, and photographer

Fictional characters

*Irina, the child protagonist in

Magdalen Nabb Magdalen Nabb (16 January 1947 – 18 August 2007) was a British author, best known for the Marshal Guarnaccia detective novels. Born in Church, a village near Accrington in Lancashire as Magdalen Nuttal, she was educated at the Convent Grammar S ...

's ''

The Enchanted Horse ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. *Irina Asanova, the great love of fictional Moscow homicide investigator Arkady Renko in the novels '' Gorky Park'' and '' Red Square'' by Martin Cruz Smith * Irina Derevko, KGB and Covenant terrorist, a main character in the '' Alias'' series * Irina Palm, pseudonym of the main character in 2007 film of the same name *

Irina Spalko This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...

, a fictional Russian mobster in the film ''

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and the fourth installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' series. Released and taking place 19 years after the previous ...

'' *Irina Clayton, a.k.a. Choir, a former member of the Xavier Institute student body and the Street Team X-Men in the Marvel Comics Universe *Irina Nikolaievna Spaskaya, former KGB agent and expert pole vaulter from

St.Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in the

39 Clues ''The 39 Clues'' is a series of adventure novels written by a collaboration of authors, including Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Roland Smith, David Baldacci, J ...

Series *Irina, One of the three sisters in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's play '' Three Sisters'' *Irina Kerchenkov, a Russian model in Sarra Manning's ''Fashionistas'' book series *Irina Denali, a member of the Denali coven in the '' Twilight'' series by Stephenie Meyer *Irina, a character from the novel series '' The Heroic Legend of Arslan'' by Yoshiki Tanaka. *Irina Shidō, a fictional character from the Japanese light novel series '' High School DxD'' by

Ichiei Ishibumi is a Japanese novelist best known for his light novel series ''High School DxD''. Career In 2005, Ishibumi received a special prize in the 17th Fantasia Awards hosted by Fujimi Shobo for the light novel ''Denpachi'' that he submitted. He mad ...

. *The Groovy Girls doll line, by Manhattan Toy, features a doll named Irina. *Irina Jelavić, a fictional character in the Japanese manga and anime ''

Assassination Classroom is a Japanese science fiction comedy manga series written and illustrated by Yusei Matsui. The series follows the daily life of an extremely powerful octopus-like being working as a junior high homeroom teacher, and his students dedicate ...

'' *Irina Clockworker, an antagonist from a series of Vocaloid songs known as "The Evillious Chronicles" *Irina of House Griffin, a playable character in PC game '' Might and Magic: Heroes VI'' *Irina Luminesk, the protagonist of '' Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut''

References