Eileen

EYE-leen
Scottish variation of Evelyn
"desired; or water, island"

Eileen Origin and Meaning

The name Eileen is a girl's name of Gaelic, Scottish origin meaning "desired; or water, island".

The Scottish Eileen was a midcentury darling that was on a long downward slide for decades. And then, in 2012, it took an unexpected pivot and has been inching upward in the US. The unrelated but similar-sounding Isla may have revived the taste for Eileen. Isla along with Lee and Lena might be nicknames for Eileen. Eileen is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Eibhlin or Aibhilin, which is technically a form of to Evelyn/Aveline, but is also sometimes considered part of the Helen family of names. Aileen is the Irish version, less popular now than Eileen.

# 660 in the US

Eileen Rank in US Top 1000

# 526 on Nameberry

Eileen Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Eileen Popularity

Famous People Named Eileen

  • Eileen Moore
    British actress
  • Eileen Heckart (born Anna Eileen Herbert)
    American actress
  • Eileen June Atkins
    English actress
  • (Verla) Eileen (Regina) Brennan
    American actress
  • Eileen Farrell
    American opera singer
  • Eileen Marie Collins
    American astronaut
  • Eilleen Regina Edwards
    birth name of singer/songwriter Shania Twain
  • Eileen Fisher
    American clothing designer
  • Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
    Irish poet
  • Eileen Myles
    American poet
  • Eileen Chang (born Zhang Ying)
    Chinese novelist
  • Eileen Davidson
    American actress
  • Eileen Bennett Whittingstall
    British tennis player
  • Eileen Alannah Joyce
    Australian pianist
  • (Eileen Evelyn) Greer Garson
    Anglo,American actress
  • Eileen Ivers
    American fiddler
  • Eileen "Eile Monty" Montgomery
    American voice actor and singer

Eileen in Pop Culture

  • Eileen Galvin
    character in the video game Silent Hill 4
  • Eileen
    character in comic strip "Fox Trot"
  • Eileen Codlin
    character from "Extraordinary" by Adam Selzer
  • Eileen Prince
    mother of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series
  • Eileen
    the mole in animated series "Regular Show"
  • Eileen Mildred Summers
    character in computer game "Kathy Rain"
  • Eileen
    character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
  • Eileen Tanaka
    character in "Does My Head Look Big in This?" by Randa Abdel,Fattah
  • "Come On Eileen
    " song by Dexy's Midnight Runners
  • "Eileen
    " song by The Hush Sound (So Sudden)