Boar friend or sea friend
Derived from the Old English elements 'eofor' (boar) and 'wine' (friend), or alternatively from 'wina' (friend) combined with a word for sea. It was a common surname before transitioning into a given name, often associated with intellectual or scholarly figures in the mid-20th century.
Less common today
Irwin isn't in the latest US Top 1000. It last peaked at #1,452 in 1991.
Acclaimed American playwright and novelist
Academy Award-winning film producer and director
Nobel Prize-winning biologist
Co-founder of Qualcomm and engineer
Investigative reporter known as Fletch · Fletch
US births per 5-year period, 1990–present (SSA data).
