Irina or Iryna (Cyrillic: Ирина, Ірина) 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. It is mostly used in countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Balkans.

Irina / Iryna
PronunciationRussian: [ɪˈrʲinə]
Ukrainian: [iˈrɪnɐ]
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameBulgarian
Russian
Albanian
Romanian
Greek
Ukrainian
Belarusian
Serbian
Macedonian
Georgian
Finnish
MeaningPeace
Other names
Related namesErina
Irene
Arina
Yurina

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

Origin edit

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 edit

Nobility and politics edit

Arts and music edit

Actresses and models edit

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Other edit

Fictional characters edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Irina". Orthodox Encyclopedia (in Russian). Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Irene the Great Martyr". Saints and Feasts. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  3. ^ The Holy Great-Martyress Irene, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Baltimore, US