Irvine, California
city in Orange County, California, United States
Irvine ( UR-vyne) is a planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s. The city was formally incorporated on December 28, 1971. The 66-square-mile (170 km2) city had a population of 318,629 as of June 2025. As of 2025, it is the second most populous city in Orange County, fifth in the Greater Los Angeles region, and 63rd in the United States.
Several major corporations in the technology and semiconductor sectors maintain their headquarters in Irvine. Irvine is also home to several higher-education institutions including the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Concordia University, Irvine Valley College, and campuses of the University of La Verne and Pepperdine University.
History
Kizh era
The Kizh (Tongva) people (also known as Gabrieleño) inhabited the Irvine area for thousands of years prior to European contact. In the present, the city and the schools within are taking action to educate the community about the indigenous history.
The public source identifies “Irvine, California” as city in Orange County, California, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Irvine, California and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Irvine, California”, the useful work is to connect “city in Orange County, California, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49219. VIAF identifies the subject as 126657829. The Library of Congress control number is n79076654. Authority coordinates are 33.684, -117.793. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1971 and 2025.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Irvine, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Irvine, California primary sources, Irvine, California archive and Irvine research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Irvine, California”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Irvine, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.