Entry № 0703 · Irish, Greek origin

Eileen Eileen — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ eye-LEEN /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Irish, Greek
Meaning
"Light (Eileen Gray, architect; Eileen Chang)"
Syllables
2
Rank · US 2025
№ 540
First recorded
Medieval (Irish)

A name that means "light (eileen gray, architect; eileen chang)".

Eileen is the anglicized Irish *Eibhlín* — a Gaelic form of Helen, from the Greek hēlē (sun, light). **A top-50 US baby name from 1916 to 1947**. **Eileen Gray (1878-1976)** — **Anglo-Irish architect and furniture designer; her E-1027 villa on the Côte d'Azur (1929) is considered among the most influential works of 20th-century Modernist architecture**, and her Bibendum chair, Adjustable Table, and Dragons armchair are MoMA staples. **In 2009 her *Dragons* armchair sold at auction for €21.9 million — at the time, the highest price ever paid for a 20th-century chair**. **Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing, 1920-1995)** — Chinese-American novelist; *Lust, Caution* (Ang Lee film 2007). **Eileen Brennan, Eileen Atkins, Eileen Heckart** — Tony and Emmy winners.

Subject of Peter Adam's *Eileen Gray: Architect/Designer* (1987).

Light. Her Modernist E-1027 villa; her Dragons chair sold for €21.9 million.

The name in its native script.

Eibhlín
Transliteration
Eibhlín
Pronunciation
/ aɪˈliːn /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Eileen stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 540 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 24 in 1925
Babies named Eileen · last year
570 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1880
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #24 NOW · #540

Eileens before her.

Real people
Eileen Gray
Anglo-Irish Modernist architect.
1878 – 1976
Eileen Chang
Chinese-American novelist.
1920 – 1995
In fiction
Eileen
Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen.
2015

Names connected to Eileen.

The number behind Eileen.

6

The Nurturer

Eileen reduces to six — the number of Irish light.

Why families chose this name.

"Gray's light. Six letters. Eileen."
Aoife · Mother of one · Brownswood