﻿ Eileen - Meaning of Eileen, What does Eileen mean?

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Eileen - Meaning of Eileen

What does Eileen mean?

Meaning of the name Eileen

[ 3 syll. ei-lee(n), eil-e-en ] The baby girl name Eileen is pronounced as -ay-LIYIYN †. Eileen is used mostly in the English, Irish, and Gaelic languages. Its language of origin is Old French and Old Greek. Old French origin, English and Irish use: It is derived from the words 'aveline' meaning hazelnut ; 'avis' bird. The name is Anglicized from the Gaelic name Aibhilin (Old Irish) or Eibhlín, from the omitted pronunciation of the Gaelic '-bh-'; in another pronunciation of '-bh-' as 'v' comes the name Evelyn. The Gaelic names are themselves from Aveline (Old French). Aveline is of uncertain origin; it could be from the Old French word for 'hazelnut', or the word 'avis', or it could be ultimately from a diminutive of Ava. The name Eileen was adopted by English speakers in the late 19th century through the influence of Irish migrants.

Eileen is a derivative (Gaelic) of the English name Evelyn.

Eileen is also a derivative (Irish) of the English name Helen.

What are the Variant Forms of Eileen?

Eileen is a widely used name; it has 57 derivatives that are used in English and other languages. Derivatives of Eileen used in English include Ailee, Ailey, Aili (used in Finnish as well), Aily, Aleen, Alena, Alene, Aline, Aveline (used in French as well), Aylee, Ayleen (used in German as well), Aylin, Eila, Eilah, Eilean, Eileane, Eileena, Eileene, Eilein, Eileine, Eilena, Eiley, Eilie, Eilieh, Eilien, Eiliene, Eilina, Eillen, Eilyn, and Eilyne. Other English forms include the familiar form Eily, and the variant spellings Aileen (used in Gaelic, German, Irish, and Scottish as well), Ailene, Eilene, Eilin, Eilleen, Ileen, Ileene, and Ilene (used in Greek, and Irish as well).

Foreign derivatives include Aila (Finnish), Ailinn (Portuguese), Aillin (Irish), and Eibhlín (Irish).

Eileen is a classic favorite. Today it is still rather popular as a baby girl name, but not as much as it was previously. At the height of its usage in 1943, 0.285% of baby girls were given the name Eileen. It was #68 in rank then. The baby name has markedly fallen in popularity since then, and it is of modest use in recent years. In 2015, its usage was only 0.021% and its ranking #694. Within the family of girl names directly linked to Eileen, Evelyn was the most widely used. In 2015, it was 23 times more widely used than Eileen.

Baby names that sound like Eileen include Eibhlín, Eileene, Elaina, Aelani, Ailín, Alaina, Alama, Alana, Alanae, Alanee, Alaney, Alani, Alanna, Alannie, Alany, Alayna, Aleen, Aleena, Alena, and Alene.


A famous person named Eileen is Shania Twain, Country Singer, born Eileen Regina Edwards 28 August 1965, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Meaning of Eileen Meaning of Aileen Meaning of Ilene Meaning of Lena Meaning of Aline Meaning of Alena Meaning of Aylin Meaning of Aveline Meaning of Evelyn Meaning of Helen
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Eileen - Meaning of Eileen, What does Eileen mean?