girl's name
Eilidh
AY-lee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 8,828
Scotland
#38
2024 births
Eilidh is a girl's name of Scottish Gaelic origin, generally taken as the Gaelic form of Helen and meaning "bright" or "shining one." It ranks 38th in Scotland and is used almost nowhere else.
- Eilidh is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in Scotland in 1998, when 244 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Scotland.
- Today about 1 in 419 babies in Scotland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1974.
Eilidh over time
Births per decade in Scotland, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2024, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 170 |
| 1980s | 776 |
| 1990s | 1,921 |
| 2000s | 1,957 |
| 2010s | 1,960 |
| 2020s (to 2024) | 660 |
What Eilidh means
Eilidh is read as bright or shining, inherited from Helen through the Greek helene. The Gaelic form contributes the spelling and the sound rather than the sense, which belongs to the source name.
Where Eilidh comes from
Eilidh is the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of Helen, arrived at through the older Eilionoir or Eilidh as a pet form. Helen comes from the Greek Helene, whose derivation has never been fully settled: helene, a torch, is the traditional reading, with a connection to selene, the moon, also proposed, and neither is secure. Eilidh is a genuinely modern name in use terms — it barely appears in Scottish records before the twentieth century and only became common from the 1980s, as part of a broad Gaelic revival in Scottish naming that also lifted Eilidh's contemporaries Iona, Skye and Mhairi. The spelling defeats non-Scottish readers reliably, which is a large part of why it has not traveled: it is two syllables, AY-lee, and the dh is silent.
Eilidh in use
Eilidh ranks 38th in Scotland with 91 births in 2024 and is effectively a Scottish-only name: 1,511th in England and Wales, 717th in Ireland, 8,851st in the United States. Our records carry it only from 1999 and mark it rising with a peak in 2019, which makes it one of the youngest names in continuous top-100 use anywhere on these islands.
How popular is Eilidh?
In 2024, Eilidh was given to 91 babies in Scotland, ranking #38 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Eilidh is used
Figures for Scotland withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Eilidh
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Eilidh also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Eilidh over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Eilidh 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 Eilidh
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Eilidh — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Eilidh
What does the name Eilidh mean?
It is read as bright or shining, inherited from Helen.
How do you pronounce Eilidh?
AY-lee, two syllables. The dh is silent.
Is Eilidh the Gaelic for Helen?
Yes, arrived at through the older Eilionoir.
How popular is Eilidh?
Thirty-eighth in Scotland, and almost unused outside it.
Is Eilidh a girl's or a boy's name?
Eilidh is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Eilidh a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Eilidh currently ranks #38 in Scotland. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.