Girls' name · since 1891

Ilene

17,840 babies named Ilene in U.S. Social Security records since 1891, with the highest year being 1950. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#1,145 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#6,125 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
17,840
born since 1891
1950s
peak decade

Yes -- Ilene is the #6125 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 17,840 recorded since 1891.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ilene has been recorded 17,840 times among girls since 1891, currently ranked #6125 nationally and more common than 65% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1891 to 2025.

  • #1,145 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #6,125 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 17,840 born since 1891
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ilene ranks #1,145 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,125 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 17,840 born since 1891, peaking in the 1950s.

#1,145 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#6,125 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
17,840
born since 1891
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%64.5%
Ilene vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Ilene's 17,840 recorded births place it above 98.41% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

40 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

40 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Ilene compares

17,840 Top 7% higher than 93% 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

Ilene's all-time total is 47x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Ilene Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 17,840 376 567,345
Peak-year births 453 21 19,840

Ilene's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Ilene splits its recorded history at 1960: 27% of all births land in the more recent half, 73% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1891 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1950 peak of 453 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Ilene popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1891–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1950)
453
Annual births at peak, across 135 years of records
0100200300400500 189119111928194519621979199620132025 19

Ilene by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (3,432 births, 19% of the file).

1950s was Ilene's strongest decade.

3,432 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.

Ilene births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 3,432 births (19% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Ilene 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 Ilene's total volume

Ilene vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 2.1%-101, 8.4%-145, 2%-87, 4.9%-146, 2.2%-79, 3.3%-48, 5.1%-40, 13.7%-111, 5%-112, 2.3%-146, 2.9%-87, 3.3%-47, 7%-146, 2.5%-24, 7.3%Ilene-135, 2.5%Ilene
Ilene vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Ilene by state

Where Ilene concentrates geographically, total births since 1891

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ilene
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
2,852 16.0%
#2 California
1,858 10.4%
#3 Michigan
1,526 8.6%
#4 Pennsylvania
889 5.0%
#5 Illinois
840 4.7%
#6 New Jersey
459 2.6%
#7 Ohio
425 2.4%
#8 Iowa
378 2.1%
New York share of Ilene's total US births 16.0%
Even split

2,852 of 17,840 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.

Ilene appears in 40 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ilene?
Since 1891, Social Security records show 17,840 babies named Ilene. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #1,145 of 72,339 girls' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #6,125 of 17,297 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1950, with 453 births.
Where does Ilene sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ilene ranks #1,145 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,125 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Ilene most popular?
Ilene was most popular in the 1950s decade with 3,432 total births. The single peak year was 1950.
Where is Ilene most popular?
The top states for the name Ilene are New York (2,852 births), California (1,858 births), Michigan (1,526 births).
How long has the name Ilene been used?
The SSA has tracked Ilene since 1891 -- 135 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Ilene?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ileana, Ileen, Ilean, Ilena, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Ilene's data

  • Ilene's decade-level peak was the 1950s (3,432 total births); usage has since declined to 111 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • New York records the most Ilenes (2,852 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 Ilene

Nearby Names Like Ilene

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ilene

Names with a similar popularity rank to Ilene

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Ilene: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1891–2025 (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 Ilene 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.