Name of the Week: Eileen

 

  

Origin:

Eileen and Aileen are anglicised forms of the Irish Gaelic names Eibhilín and Aibhilín (or, more commonly today, Eibhlín).  Both Eibhilín and Aibhilín are variants of Avelina, a diminutive form of the Old Germanic name Avila, making Eileen a cousin to Evelyn.  Avila itself derives from the Old Germanic name Ava, the origins of which are very mysterious.  It is generally thought that Ava is the feminine form of Germanic Avi or Avo, which could either be connected to the Germanic tribe of the Aviones or from the Old Germanic alfi "elf."  Another possibility is that Ava developed as a variant of Eve, a Hebrew name meaning "life", with which it has been much confused over time.  Avelina is often further confused with avellana, the Latin name for the hazel tree. In modern French, aveline means "hazelnut."

Usage:

Aveline, the Old French form of Avelina, was brought over to Britain by the Normans with whom it had a long history of use. Avelina of Longeville was the sister of Gunnor, wife of Richard I of Normandy and great-grandmother of William the Conqueror. The name was not very popular in Britain over all, but it was used regularly across the Middle Ages. Records include instances of Avelina, Avelin, Avelyna and Avelyn in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1189, 1200, 1273 and 1430, and the Norfolk Poll Tax of 1379. It was certainly used enough times to create the surname Aveline, Aveling and, in some cases, Evelyn. The Normans also took Aveline over to Ireland where it was borne by many aristocratic Norman-Irish ladies, such as Aveline FitzJohn FitzGeoffrey, wife of Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (c. 1230–1271) and her granddaughter, Aveline de Burgh (b. c. 1280), daughter of the Red Earl of Ulster. Aibhilín/Eibhilín were used as Irish Gaelic forms by at least the 16th century, and there are several examples of women bearing the name in the Irish Annals dating from 1498 to 1583. According to Donnchadh Ó Corráin and Fidelma Maguire*, "As Eibhlín the name achieved great popularity." The name was re-translated into English from the 17th century in a variety of forms – though ironically not the original Aveline/Avelina/Evelina itself. Eileen, Aileen and Eveleen were used a phonetic English spellings (Ó Corráin & Maguire give the both the pronunciation of EYE-leen and EV-leen for Eibhlín) but it was also 'translated' into English as Helen, Ellen and Ellie to "such an extent," K.M. Sheard* argues, "that some believe it derives from one of these. Linguistically, however, it is clear the origin is Avelina."   A famous namesake was Irish noblewoman and poet, Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (c.1743–c.1800), known as Eileen O'Connell in English, who composed, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, regarded as one of the greatest laments in history. Despite its popularity in Ireland, it was initially slow to catch on in Britain until the mid-19th century, alongside the likes of Kathleen, Gladys and Brenda, when native Celtic names saw a revival.  Data from the 1881 census shows that, despite their shared Gaelic heritage, Eileen/Aileen initially didn't have much of a foothold in Scotland and saw more use in England.  Birth records in England and Wales for Eileen/Aileen:    Eileen Aileen 1840s:  1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 2 births 6 births 16 births 70 births 377 births 2158 births 11595 births 34822 births 4 births 2 births 11 births 43 births 108 births 433 births 995 births 1028 births By 1890, Eileen ranked #199 and was #114 in 1900. Four years later, in 1904, it had shot up to #70 and rose even further to #27 in 1914, and peaking at #10 in 1924.  After that time, it began to decline, leaving the top 100 by 1964. The spelling Aileen never ranked in the top 100 of England and Wales.  By 1996, both Eileen and Aileen have ranked below the top 1000. Eileen has consistently fluctuated with between 13 and 28 births per year; for Aileen its between 4 to 12 births. In 2016, Eileen ranked #1211 with 28 births and Aileen ranked #2367 with 11 births.  On the other hand, both Eileen and Aileen saw success in Scotland, but a little later than in England. In 1900, neither spelling ranked in the Scottish top 100, but by 1950, Eileen was #33 and Aileen was #72. By 1974, Aileen was still hanging on at #85 while Eileen had just fallen out to #104.  From that point, both Eileen and Aileen saw a steady decline in Scotland. In 2017, Eileen and Aileen ranked both #1537 with 1 birth each.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill "Eileen O'Connell" (c.1743–c.1800), Irish noblewoman and poet, the composer of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire. * Eileen M. Hickey (1886–1960), Northern Irish politician. * Eileen Sedgwick (1898–1991), an American actress of the silent era. * Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (1907–1979) , British tennis player who won six Grand Slam doubles titles from 1927 to 1931. * Eileen Chang (1920–1995), one of the most influential modern Chinese writers. * Eileen Farrell (1920-2002), American opera and concert singer. * Princess Eileen, Hereditary Princess of Albania (1922–1985), an Englishwoman who became the wife of Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania. * Eileen Barton (1924–2006), American singer. * Eileen M Folson (1956-2007), a Broadway composer, professional cellist and a Grammy nominee. Contemporary: * Dame Eileen Atkins, English actress. * Eileen Bellomo, member of rock group The Stilettos. * Eileen Brennan, American actress. * Eileen Catterson, Scottish fashion model and former Miss Scotland 1987. * Eileen Collins, American astronaut. * Eileen Dunne, Irish newsreader. * Eileen Fulton, American actress. * Eileen Kernaghan, Canadian novelist. * Eileen McCallum, MBE, Scottish actress. * Eileen Ryan, American actress. * Eileen Shields, American footwear designer and entrepreneur. * Eileen Walsh, Irish actress. * Eileen Whitfield, Canadian journalist and playwright. * Eileen Yeow, Singaporean actress. Literature and Other Media: * Eileen Shallot, character in the novella The Dream Master. * Eileen, character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton. * Eileen Prince, mother of Severus Snape from the Harry Potter book series. * "Come On Eileen," song by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Variants:

Aileen, Eilene, Aibhilín, Eibhilín, Eibhlín, Eibhlínn, Eibhleann

Pronunciation:

EYE-leen  [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Eily

Sibling Names:

Vera     Marjorie     Winifred     Olive     Peggy     Muriel  Kenneth     Dennis     Eric     Cyril     Bernard     Clifford

Name Lists:

Clunky Celtic

 

If you like Eileen you may also like:   Irene, Kathleen, Maureen, Doris, Barbara, Joan, Beryl, Sorcha, Gwendolyn, Betty

Thanks to Kew for requesting this name.