Eilene
Feminine · “Norman French Aveline”
Eileen and Evelyn are the same name. Both descend from Norman French Aveline: Irish borrowed it as Eibhlin and English kept it as the surname Evelyn. Two names that sound nothing alike arrived from one word by two routes.
How old is the name Eilene?
Eilene first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Eilene alive today was born around 1946, making them about 79 years old. About 1,100 people named Eilene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Eilene most popular?
Eilene peaked in 1938, reaching #1091 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 8,366 places below that high. See the whole 1938 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aveline to Eilene
The story of Eilene
Aveline came to Ireland with the Normans in the twelfth century and was taken into Irish as Eibhlin, which anglicized as Eileen and Aileen. In England the same name became the surname Evelyn, and the surname was later used as a given name for men and then for women. So one Norman French diminutive produced Eileen in Ireland, Evelyn in England, Aveline in France and Avelina in Spain, and none of the bearers of any of them would recognize the others. The confusion was compounded because Irish scribes also used Eibhlin to render Helen and Ellen, so Irish records treat them as interchangeable while etymologists do not. This is the ordinary condition of medieval naming: forms travel, get reshaped by the receiving language, and are matched to whatever native name they most resemble.
Meaningscholars disagree
Norman French Aveline, of uncertain meaning
Eilene is a spelling of Eileen, the anglicized form of Irish Eibhlin, borrowed from Norman French Aveline. Aveline is a diminutive of Ava or Avila, whose own origin is disputed and may be Germanic. The English name Evelyn comes from the same Aveline by a different route. Eibhlin is also used as the Irish for Helen and Ellen, which has confused the picture further. The peak is 1938.
How the name formed
- Aveline
- Eibhlin
- Eileen
- Eilene
Related forms: Eibhlin · Eileen · Evelyn
Pronouncing Eilene
eye-LEEN
Two syllables, stress on the second. Eilene, Eileen and Aileen are homophones. Irish Eibhlin is closer to EYE-leen with the bh said as a v or dropped.
Nicknames for Eilene
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1909
- Most girls named
- 194654 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1091reached in 1938
- Change vs 2022
- +11.1%10 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Eilene in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Eibhlin in Irish — same name
- Eileen in English — spelling variant
- Evelyn in English — related form
Eilenes among us
people named Eilene are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Eilene
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Loise test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Eilene's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Loise climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Loise's path sketches the road Eilene is walking now.
Eilene sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Eilene beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Eilene in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The stressed ending gives it a firm final beat.
- Eileen is available as the standard spelling.
- Six letters and two syllables, easy to say.
- Eileen and Aileen are both commoner spellings.
- The origin of the underlying Norman name is disputed.
- The 1938 peak places it before the war.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Eilene to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Eilene? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Eilene
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Eilenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Eilene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Eilene in 2025?
- Eilene ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Eilene?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Eilene — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Eilene with classmates?
- Eilene will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Eilene
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Eilene? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Eilene and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle