Eileen 1312193 213915710 2008-05-21T09:54:30Z Espoo 115938 {| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;" |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: large;" | '''Eileen''' |- ! Gender: | Female |- ! Origin: | Irish / Germanic |- ! Meaning: | ''desired'' (possibly) |- | colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;" | {{{footnotes|}}} |} '''Eileen''' (pronounced eye-LEEN [ai 'li:n]) is a female [[first name]]. It is the Anglicised version of Irish [[Eibhlín]], which is in turn a form of the older Irish Gaelic [[Aibhilín]] or [[Eilín]] (Anglicised as [[Aveline]]). Aveline is probably derived from ''Ava'', which is of Germanic origin but whose meaning is uncertain, though it possibly means "desired".<ref>{{cite web | title=Where does the name Eileen come from? | url=http://www.blurtit.com/q988011.html | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Eileen | url=http://www.behindthename.com/name/eileen | accessdate=2008-05-14}}</ref> "Eileen" also means "light."{{Fact|date=January 2008}} It is reported <ref>{{cite web | title=Babies Named Eileen | url=http://www.thenamemachine.com/baby-names-girls/Eileen.html | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> that the name Eileen has been one of the 1,000 most popular girl's names in the United States in every decade since 1880. Besides being a [[first name]], '''Eileen''' may refer to: * [[Eileen, Wisconsin]] * [[Eileen (musical)]] * Eileen Aroon, a song written by [[Thomas Connellan]] * Eileen, a song from [[Keith Richards]]' album [[Main Offender]] == See also == * [[Evelyn]] ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Given names]] {{disambig}} [[nl:Eileen]] [[pt:Eileen]]