girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Eileen

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #654 Trend ↑ Rising 15%
Rank 2025
#654
among girls · ↓62 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
437
named Eileen · -14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,678
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
4,267 babies
All-time total
190,020
#209 all-time among girls
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Eileen popularity over time

190,020 babies have been named Eileen since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 81 – 81 8 – #578
1890s 438 – 438 44 +441% #340
1900s 1,351 – 1,351 135 +208% #240
1910s 12,706 12 12,718 1,272 +841% #103
1920s 28,588 35 28,623 2,862 +125% #91
1930s 22,258 91 22,349 2,235 -22% #103
1940s 34,695 108 34,803 3,480 +56% #68
1950s 36,570 78 36,648 3,665 +5% #91
1960s 24,868 58 24,926 2,493 -32% #130
1970s 7,915 17 7,932 793 -68% #245
1980s 5,689 7 5,696 570 -28% #333
1990s 4,109 – 4,109 411 -28% #461
2000s 3,801 – 3,801 380 -7% #619
2010s 3,836 – 3,836 384 +1% #669
2020s (to 2025) 2,709 – 2,709 452 +18% #592

Where Eileen is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 446 0.28 outside top 500
2027 454 0.28 outside top 500
2028 461 0.29 outside top 500
2029 466 0.29 outside top 500
2030 471 0.29 outside top 500

Where Eileen is most popular

Girls named Eileen per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.284 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, California, and New Jersey.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Eileen born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New York 206 0.520 +83%
California 421 0.501 +76%
New Jersey 85 0.471 +66%
Washington 60 0.415 +46%
Virginia 70 0.411 +44%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 +40%
Arizona 56 0.399 +40%
Massachusetts 48 0.397 +40%
Illinois 89 0.389 +37%
Maryland 41 0.387 +36%
Texas 293 0.364 +28%
Tennessee 56 0.353 +24%
Michigan 62 0.340 +20%
North Carolina 70 0.307 +8%
Indiana 43 0.306 +8%
Pennsylvania 66 0.279 ≈ national
Georgia 56 0.247 -13%
Ohio 58 0.244 -14%
Colorado 26 0.233 -18%
Oklahoma 17 0.231 -19%
Florida 98 0.229 -19%
Kansas 13 0.225 -21%
Missouri 27 0.224 -21%
Oregon 12 0.184 -35%
Louisiana 14 0.160 -44%
Kentucky 13 0.152 -47%
Arkansas 8 0.151 -47%
Alabama 12 0.128 -55%
Connecticut 7 0.120 -58%
Minnesota 12 0.111 -61%
Nevada 5 0.108 -62%
Utah 8 0.096 -66%
Wisconsin 6 0.058 -80%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Eileen

Eileen is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #654 in 2025 with 437 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 190,020 American babies have been named Eileen. Its peak came in 1947, when 4,267 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Eileen stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Eileen?

The median living Eileen is about 67 years old; half are between 56 and 76. An estimated 110 thousand people named Eileen are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Eileen year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 437 #654 – –
2024 511 #592 – –
2023 444 #663 – –
2022 476 #621 – –
2021 440 #671 – –
2020 401 #701 – –
2019 413 #701 – –
2018 439 #669 – –
2017 421 #692 – –
2016 390 #728 – –
2015 408 #698 – –
2014 391 #717 – –
2013 360 #752 – –
2012 324 #829 – –
2011 369 #748 – –
2010 321 #838 – –
2009 347 #815 – –
2008 386 #764 – –
2007 396 #735 – –
2006 355 #778 – –
2005 381 #717 – –
2004 358 #737 – –
2003 389 #678 – –
2002 380 #667 – –
2001 407 #619 – –
2000 402 #625 – –
1995 372 #604 – –
1990 529 #461 – –
1985 560 #403 – –
1980 613 #377 – –
1975 662 #336 – –
1970 1,282 #245 – –
1965 2,418 #157 7 #3,333
1960 3,496 #130 10 #2,739
1955 3,503 #120 11 #2,468
1950 3,883 #91 8 #2,843
1945 3,637 #70 6 #3,096
1940 2,034 #125 10 #2,373
1935 2,199 #108 8 #2,774
1930 2,378 #110 9 #2,831
1925 2,964 #96 5 #4,391
1920 2,718 #100 – –
1915 1,493 #132 – –
1910 258 #240 – –
1905 124 #301 – –
1900 85 #367 – –
1895 44 #428 – –
1890 15 #700 – –
1885 6 #957 – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Eileen

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Eileen Atkins Eileen Atkins English actress (born 1934) Contemporary
  2. 2 Eileen Brennan Eileen Brennan American actress and singer (1932–2013) Contemporary
  3. 3 Eileen Davidson Eileen Davidson American actress, author and television personality b. 1959 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Eileen Heckart Eileen Heckart American actress (1919–2001) Contemporary
  5. 5 Eileen Collins Eileen Collins American astronaut and pilot (born 1956) Contemporary
  6. 6 Eileen Chang Eileen Chang Chinese-American writer and screenwriter (1920–1995) Contemporary
  7. 7 Eileen Gray Eileen Gray Irish architect and furniture designer (1878–1976) 19th century
  8. 8 Eileen Essell Eileen Essell English actress (1922–2015) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Eileen, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Eileen?

The median living Eileen is about 67 years old. Half of all living Eileens are between 56 and 76 years old.

How many people named Eileen are alive today?

An estimated 110 thousand people named Eileen are alive in the United States, based on 190,020 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Eileen in 2025?

Eileen ranked #654 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 437 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Eileen?

190,020 babies have been named Eileen in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Eileen most popular?

Eileen peaked in 1947, when 4,267 newborns received the name.

Is Eileen a boy or girl name?

Eileen is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Eileen rising or falling?

Eileen is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Eileen become more popular?

Eileen is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 471 girls named Eileen in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Eileen?

Well-known people named Eileen include Eileen Atkins (actor), Eileen Brennan (actor), Eileen Davidson (actor).

Names like Eileen

Names that sound and feel close to Eileen: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Eileen with similar names → More names starting with E →