girl's name
Aileen
eye-LEEN
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 42,257
the United States
#800
2025 births
Aileen means hazel, most likely, and the shining gloss usually given for it comes from confusion with Helen — the Norman Aveline is the likelier parent, and it has nothing to do with light.
- Aileen is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 685 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,751 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Aileen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 63 |
| 1890s | 332 |
| 1900s | 818 |
| 1910s | 2,831 |
| 1920s | 4,648 |
| 1930s | 2,157 |
| 1940s | 1,629 |
| 1950s | 1,957 |
| 1960s | 2,308 |
| 1970s | 1,781 |
| 1980s | 2,356 |
| 1990s | 3,258 |
| 2000s | 5,821 |
| 2010s | 5,360 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,323 |
What Aileen means
Aileen probably means hazel or little hazel, from the Norman Aveline. The bright and shining readings come from a confusion with Helen and are not supported.
Where Aileen comes from
Aileen anglicizes the Irish Eibhlín, which came from the Norman French Aveline — generally traced to a Germanic root meaning hazel, and the source of the English Evelyn. Because Eibhlín was also used to render Helen, the Greek sense of light or brightness attached itself, and most sources now repeat it. The two names are unrelated: Helen's own root is disputed but Aveline's is not Greek at all.
Aileen in use
Aileen peaked in the United States in 2009, when 685 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 778th in Ireland on 4 births, 800th in the United States on 340, 2427th in France on 10 and 3166th in England and Wales on 8, across 42,257 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Ireland ran its own peak of 103 births in 1976.
How popular is Aileen?
In 2025, Aileen was given to 340 babies in the United States, ranking #800 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Aileen is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Aileen is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Aïleen | Aïleen is a rare spelling of Aileen, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 110 times, mostly in France. | 110 |
Names that peaked alongside Aileen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Aileen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Aileen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Aileen in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Aileen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Aileen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Aileen
What does the name Aileen mean?
Hazel, most likely — from the Norman Aveline.
Does it mean shining?
That comes from a confusion with Helen. The two names are unrelated.
Is Evelyn related?
Yes — the same Aveline, by an English route.
How popular is Aileen?
800th in the United States, and stable rather than falling in our data.
Is Aileen a girl's or a boy's name?
Aileen is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Aileen?
Aileen has 2 syllables.
Is Aileen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Aileen currently ranks #778 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.