Eileen
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Meaning
“Anglicized form of Irish Eibhlín, also sometimes treated as an Irish equivalent of Helen; not an Evelyn-derived 'light' name”
Famously borne by Eileen Chang, whose school name was rendered in Chinese as Ailing. Famously borne by Olympic freeskier Eileen Gu, known in China as Gu Ailing.
The story
Eileen is the English spelling of Irish Eibhlín. Scholars also sometimes treat it as an Irish equivalent of Helen, but the once-common claim that it is an Irish form of Evelyn meaning light is not supported. The name moved beyond Ireland near the end of the nineteenth century and became a familiar English-language choice, helped by the related spelling Aileen. Its American curve is strongest from the 1920s through the 1950s, softens in the later twentieth century, and shows a small modern floor rather than disappearing. The 1982 song Come On Eileen arrived after the main naming era, giving an already established name a new pop-cultural echo. Irish writers and families supplied the deeper continuity. Eileen's story is therefore about anglicization and use, not a polished light translation: an Irish form carried into a wider English-speaking world.
Eileen in song
Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)
Fiddles, overalls, and a tempo that keeps accelerating, a number one on both sides of the Atlantic that still empties chairs at weddings.
How popular is Eileen around the world?
In the United States, 2,709 babies were named Eileen between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 53 registrations of Eileen in 2022.
Eileen is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Austria, Chile, Norway, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, Scotland, England and Wales, France, South Australia, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,000
In the United States, 2,709 babies were named Eileen between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Eileen peaked in the 1920s and the 1950s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 2,200
In Mexico City, there were 53 registrations of Eileen in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (4 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 4,200
In Austria, 18 girls named Eileen were born in 2025, the 301st most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Chile
1 in 6,100
In Chile, 29 girls were registered as Eileen in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Norway
1 in 6,700register 2026
In Norway, 4 girls were given the name Eileen in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Ireland
1 in 6,800
In Ireland, 8 girls named Eileen were born in 2025, the 443rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 7,600
In Canada, 48 girls named Eileen were born in 2024, the 597th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Argentina
1 in 9,500
In Argentina, 70 newborns were given the name Eileen in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Eileen were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 13,000
In England and Wales, 44 girls named Eileen were born in 2025, the 816th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 16,000
In France, about 40 girls named Eileen were born in 2025, the 947th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Eileen, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Eileen in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Spain
1 in 77,000
In Spain, 583 residents are named Eileen, ranked 2,059th among women, with a mean age of 31 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 114 people in Brazil were named Eileen, ranked 37,641st, with a median age of 24.
Among people named Eileen living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Eileen is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1994
Eileen is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Poland
last on record 2019
Eileen is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2006
Eileen is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 32 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
When you meet Eileen
People given the name Eileen in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Eileen travels
Irish American · A beloved mid-century classic in Irish American families.
Keep exploring
Irish American baby names · Pen names and the names writers chose · Names of sports stars
The Eileen deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Eileen truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Eileen fits with your family’s names and surname.
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