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Baby names

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Original poster

What do you think of Irene?

33 replies

gridreference · 25/09/2009 18:19

What do you think of Irene as a girl's name? It's listed on Mumsnet's Baby Name Finder.

How would you pronounce it?

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slowreadingprogress · 26/09/2009 22:05

bizarrely, it was on the tv 'Sherlock Holmes' that I heard Irene pronounced Ih-Ray-Na which I think is lovely. Irene Adler was the only woman Sherlock kept a photo of and he called her "THE woman"

That sells it to me, sounds so glam

audley · 26/09/2009 21:29

Eirene is gorgeous, am making note of that one!

Cortina · 26/09/2009 19:49

Yep, Irene was in Malory Towers (also a musical genius from memory). She and Belinda were always forgetting their health certificates .

Anya4 · 26/09/2009 19:45

My DD2 has Eirene (I-ree-nee) as her middle name - its the old Greek word for 'Peace'. Personally I think it looks a bit prettier with the E at the start, and we love the meaning.
Go for it !

jeee · 26/09/2009 11:41

Irene was that scatty one in Malory Towers, wasn't she?

MintyCane · 26/09/2009 11:27

I prefer Rainie.

However my fav name of the moment is DuelingFanjo makes me smile every time i see it

DuelingFanjo · 26/09/2009 11:22

it immediately makes me think of Home and away!

HidingFromTheDM · 26/09/2009 11:20

Makes me think of a blue-haired granny! Yech.

mrswoolf · 26/09/2009 11:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bellissima · 26/09/2009 08:21

Its like Agnes. Continental pronunciation lovely, English pronunciation great-auntish.

Bigboots · 25/09/2009 23:05

Dexy's Midnight Runners! 'C'mon Irene'

twirlymum · 25/09/2009 22:55

Irene Handl. From Metal Mickey.

pasturesnew · 25/09/2009 22:47

I like it pronounced eye-reenie.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 25/09/2009 22:46

My niece is Irina (pr. EE-ree-nah), which is lovely. Nickname Irinel (ee-ree-nehl).

seeker · 25/09/2009 22:39

We always used to sing that at family parties for the aforementioned ancient Irene! Oh the memories!

It's quite nice if it's pronounced E-ren, in the French way. But there's no way you could make that happen/

angelene · 25/09/2009 22:01

"Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams"

Beautiful song but I'm not sure I particularly like the name.

dogonpoints · 25/09/2009 22:00

plus there was an old witch of a relative on the same side of the family called Reenie (never sure how she spelled it)

dogonpoints · 25/09/2009 21:59

I had a very similar problem, seeker. Couldn't bring myself to use it at all

seeker · 25/09/2009 21:55

When my dd was born she still had a living Great great grandmother. She was a fabulous,feisty, incredibly switched on 102 year old lady called Irene (Rene for short). We really wanted to honour her in our dd's name, but just couldn't bring ourselves to use Irene, even as a 3rd name! So dd has Irina (the Russian version) as part of her name, and loves it. Honour satisfied on all sides.

But I wouldn't use it as a first name.

spicybingowings · 25/09/2009 21:54

old fashioned and not particularly nice.

eye - reen.

Eye - reen - ee - sounds ok.

ravenAK · 25/09/2009 21:51

Eye-reen-ee.

I have a mate (in his late 60s now) whose ex was called Irene, & he was haunted by a song called 'Irene, I'll see you in my dreams'.

A murder ballad maybe?

Anyway, my associations with the name are now, well, a bit creepy.

Eirene maybe?

dogonpoints · 25/09/2009 21:47

I don't like it at all.

Eye-reen.

hatwoman · 25/09/2009 21:39

no. don't like it. it might come into fashion in 20 years - when people whose grannies were called Irene are having kids. but we're not ready for it yet. it sits with Valerie and Jean. not with Iris, Elsie, and Harry.

wheresclaire · 25/09/2009 21:30

Reenie is nice. Irene just sounds too dated.

WickedWench · 25/09/2009 21:16

Sorry, hate it. Irene (Eyereen) is a late middle aged lady name. My Mum has three friends called Irene, all in their early sixties and two of them are know as Reenie. Yuk.

I did used to work with a girl called Irena - pronounced 'ihrenna' - her parents were Polish immigrants though so probably a proper Polish name. I think that is much nicer.

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