Eileen
Eileen is a girls' name of Irish origin meaning “bright, shining, radiant.” It ranked #654 in the United States in 2025. An Anglicization of the Irish Eibhlín, itself a form of Evelyn or Helen.
how do you pronounce Eileen?
eye-LEEN
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Eileen mean?
The name Eileen means “bright, shining, radiant.” It comes from the Irish language tradition.
An Anglicization of the Irish Eibhlín, itself a form of Evelyn or Helen. It was widely popular in the early-to-mid 20th century and is now undergoing vintage revival.
where does the name Eileen come from?
Sources give two threads for Eileen: primarily, both Wiktionary and Wikipedia derive it as an Anglicized form of the Irish Eibhlín, from the Norman French Aveline, itself from the Germanic Avi — possibly meaning desire — plus diminutive suffixes. Separately, Wiktionary notes Eileen is sometimes used for the distinct Irish name Éibhleann, possibly from a word for radiance or beauty, which is closer to the table's bright/shining/radiant gloss but belongs to that related name rather than the primary Aveline-based derivation. Wikipedia adds that Eileen is related to Evelyn and to the variant Aileen.
the history of Eileen
Wikipedia notes Eileen has been featured in classic Irish songs, though it gives no further historical timeline, and the vintage-revival claim given elsewhere isn't addressed by these sources.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #654 |
| 2024 | #592 |
| 2023 | #663 |
| 2022 | #621 |
| 2021 | #671 |
| 2020 | #701 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Eileen?
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Eileen?
- Eileen Gray
- Eileen Collins
- Eileen Davidson
what names go well with Eileen?
Sibling names that share Eileen's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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