Irina
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 peace.
Pronunciation | Russian: [ɪˈrʲinə] Ukrainian: [iˈrɪnɐ] (listen) |
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Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Word/name | Bulgarian Russian Albanian Romanian Greek Ukrainian Belarusian Serbian Macedonian Armenian |
Meaning | Peace |
Other names | |
Related names | Erina Irene Arina |
Diminutive 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. 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).[1][2][3]
Notable people with this name
Nobility and politics
- Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia
- Irina Khakamada, Russian politician
- Irina von Wiese, 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 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
Actresses and models
- Irina Dvorovenko, Ukrainian-American ballet dancer and actress
- Irina Pantaeva, Siberian fashion model and actress
- Irina Shayk, model originally from Russia
- Irina Voronina, Playboy Playmate originally from Russia
- Irina Lazareanu, Romanian-born Canadian model
Sports
- Irina Alexeeva, Russian gymnast
- Irina Baskakova, Soviet track and field sprinter
- Irina-Camelia Begu, Romanian tennis player
- Irina Bespalova, Russian butterfly swimmer
- Irina Deleanu, Romanian former individual rhythmic gymnast
- Irina Kostyuchenkova, Ukrainian javelin thrower
- Irina Krush, chess player
- Irina Lashko, Russian-born Australian diver
- Irina Loghin, 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, Soviet and Russian singer
- Irina Press, Soviet 2x Olympic champion (80-m hurdles & pentathlon)
- Irina Rodnina, Soviet figure skater
- Irina Sazonova, 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, Russian freestyle swimmer
Other
- Irina Gaidamachuk (born 1972), prolific Russian serial killer
- Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko (1924-1973), Russian tank commander
- Irina Livezeanu, Romanian-born American historian
Fictional characters
- Irina, the child protagonist in Magdalen Nabb's The Enchanted Horse.
- 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, a fictional Russian mobster in the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- 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 in the 39 Clues Series
- Irina, One of the three sisters in Anton Chekhov'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.
- 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
- 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
See also
- Irina (disambiguation)
- Saint Irene (disambiguation)
- All pages with titles beginning with Irina
- All pages with titles beginning with Iryna
References
- "Irina". Orthodox Encyclopedia (in Russian). Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- "Irene the Great Martyr". Saints and Feasts. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- The Holy Great-Martyress Irene, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Baltimore, US