Irving

Scottish
"green river, sea friend"

Irving Origin and Meaning

The name Irving is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "green river, sea friend".

It might be surprising to know that this name originated as a Scottish place and surname name, as in Washington Irving. It became a popular choice for first-generation Jewish-American boys, such as best-selling authors Irving Stone and Irving Wallace, whose parents looked to surnames from the British Isles to confer a measure of assimilation and class. Irving Berlin changed his name from Israel; actor Ving Rhames streamlined and coolized it. Irving was a Top 100 name during World War I, and though we don't envision it reaching those heights again, we can see some hipster parents having their own little Ving.

# 985 in the US

Irving Rank in US Top 1000

# 746 on Nameberry

Irving Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Irving Popularity

Famous People Named Irving

  • Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Baline)
    American composer
  • Irving Grant Thalberg
    American film producer
  • Washington Irving
    American author
  • Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames
    American actor
  • Irving Lester Janis
    American research psychologist
  • Irving Mills (born Isadore Minsky)
    American jazz publisher and musician
  • Irving Caesar
    (born Isidor Keiser) American lyricist
  • Irving Langmuir
    American Nobel Prize,winning chemist
  • Irving Fisher
    American economist

Irving in Pop Culture

  • Irving "Irv" Harper
    character on TV's "Everwood"
  • Lloyd Irving
    main character of video game "Tales of Symphonia"
  • Irving Hillman
    character in newspaper comic strip "Cathy"
  • Irving Beaks
    a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Harvey Beaks"
  • Irving
    character mentioned in the movie "Chicago," during the "Cell Block Tango" number
  • Irving Burnside
    Jon Arbuckle's next door neighbor in the cartoon show "Garfield and Friends"