Girls' name · since 1882
Eileen
Eileen has 189,614 recorded births since 1882 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1947 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #209 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #656 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 189,614
- born since 1882
- 1950s
- peak decade
189,614 babies have been named Eileen since 1882, making it today's #656 girls' name.
Eileen has 189,614 recorded births among girls since 1882, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #656 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #209 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #656 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 189,614 born since 1882
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Eileen ranks #209 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #656 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 189,614 born since 1882, peaking in the 1950s.
- #209 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #656 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 189,614
- born since 1882
- 1950s
- peak decade
Eileen's 189,614 recorded births place it above 99.71% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Eileen compares
189,614 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Eileen's all-time total is 504x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Eileen | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 189,614 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 4,251 | 21 | 19,840 |
Eileen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Eileen's SSA record in two at 1954 and the more recent half accounts for 39% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 61%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1883, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1947 peak of 4,251, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Eileen popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (1947)
- 4,251
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Eileen popularity over time - boys
406 total births recorded since 1917 (Eileen as boys' name)
Eileen by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (36,570 births, 19% of the file).
1950s was Eileen's strongest decade.
36,570 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.
Eileen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 81
1880s
81 births
- 1890s 438
1890s
438 births
- 1900s 1,351
1900s
1,351 births
- 1910s 12,706
1910s
12,706 births
- 1920s
1920s
28,588 births
- 1930s
1930s
22,258 births
- 1940s
1940s
34,695 births
- 1950s
1950s
36,570 births
- 1960s
1960s
24,868 births
- 1970s 7,915
1970s
7,915 births
- 1980s 5,689
1980s
5,689 births
- 1990s 4,109
1990s
4,109 births
- 2000s 3,801
2000s
3,801 births
- 2010s 3,836
2010s
3,836 births
- 2020s 2,709
2020s
2,709 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 36,570 births (19% of all-time use).
How Eileen compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Eileen's total volume
Eileen by state
Where Eileen concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 42,826 | 22.6% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 19,118 | 10.1% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 13,469 | 7.1% |
| #4 | New Jersey | | 13,397 | 7.1% |
| #5 | California | | 13,295 | 7.0% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 11,704 | 6.2% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 10,199 | 5.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 5,930 | 3.1% |
42,826 of 189,614 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Eileen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Eileen? ▼
Where does Eileen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Eileen most popular? ▼
Where is Eileen most popular? ▼
How long has the name Eileen been used? ▼
What names are similar to Eileen? ▼
What to do with Eileen's data
- Eileen's decade-level peak was the 1950s (36,570 total births); usage has since declined to 2,709 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Eileens (42,826 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Eileen
Nearby Names Like Eileen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Eileen
Compare Eileen side by side: Eileen vs Eilene Eileen vs Eila Eileen vs Eiley
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Eileen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Eileen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1947)
Similar record span (~143 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1882–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Eileen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.