Irene is a given name for women. It is Greek for "peace." Several saints are named Irene. In 2005, in the United States, the name ranked at 590th most popular name for baby girls and fell to 632 the following year. Several Atlantic tropical storms or hurricanes were named Irene. Hurricane Irene in 2011 was very destructive to the East Coast of the United States, so "Irene" was retired in spring of 2012.