Name Legacy

Eileen

Recorded 1882–2025 · United States

Eileen was most popular in 1947, when 4,267 American babies were given the name — ranking #176 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,291, with 437 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 190,020 people named Eileen.

Most popular in1947
Rank that year#176
Births that year4,267
Total since 1880190,020
Given to100% girls
Alive today~106,000
Median age68

Eileen over time

18802025
Births per year. The dot marks Eileen’s peak in 1947. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

How old is the name Eileen?

Eileen first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1882, which makes it about 143 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 143 of the 144 years since.

How many people are named Eileen?

The Social Security Administration has recorded 190,020 American births named Eileen between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 106,507 are estimated to be alive today.

How many babies were named Eileen in 2025?

437 American babies were named Eileen in 2025, ranking #1,291 that year.

Is Eileen getting more or less popular?

Eileen is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 462 births a year, against 370 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +25% over the decade.

Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.

Is Eileen a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Eileen is a girl’s name — 99.8% of the 190,020 Americans given it were girls and 0.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

How old is someone named Eileen?

Roughly 106,507 Americans named Eileen are alive today — 56% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 68 years old, and half are between 56 and 77.

An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.

Origin

Irish · from Eibhlin, a form of Helen

Names that peaked alongside Eileen

Where Eileen is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Eileen on the interactive charts

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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org