Meaning & History
Irini is the modern Greek form of Irene. The name Irene derives from the Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirene), meaning "peace." In Greek mythology, Eirene was the goddess of peace, one of the Ὥραι (Horai), the daughters of Zeus and Themis who personified seasons and natural order. The name was also borne by several early Christian saints, including one venerated in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In the Byzantine Empire, the name became common, especially due to the 8th-century Empress Irene, who was the first woman to reign as sole ruler of the empire (though originally serving as regent for her son Constantine VI, whom she later had removed). Traditionally, Irene and its forms have been more popular among Eastern Christians than in the West; in the English-speaking world it was adopted only in the 19th century.
Related Forms
A dialectal variant, Eirini, also exists in modern Greek. Across languages, the name takes many forms, such as Irina (Russian), Iryna (Ukrainian), Irena (Slovene) and Ena 2 (Croatian). Among these equivalents, Irini is the standard modern Greek rendering particularly in Greece and Cyprus. In Albanian, Irini can also be a standalone feminine given name, as documented by Wiktionary.
- Meaning: Peace
- Origin: Greek
- Usage: Greek, also Albanian
- Type: First name (feminine)
Related Names
Sources: Wiktionary — Irini