Irene is one of those old-school names that has suddenly become more appealing for me, as well. I started liking it when I saw a post on here over a year ago from someone whose professor (I think) had just had a baby girl, and named her
Calliope Irene. (I still think that's a stunning name, and it makes me wonder if the professor taught Classics.)
It also makes me think of
Irene Adler, which is cool, I guess. It's definitely not a weak name.