Aileen
Meaning of Aileen
Aileen drifts onto the tongue like una brisa celta, a Gaelic gem whose lineage winds from the Irish Aibhilín through medieval Aveline to the age-old Greek Helen, carrying with it the ever-sparkling meaning of “bright, shining light.” She answers to AW-leen in a Donegal kitchen and to AY-leen on a New York playground, a bilingual wink that lets her fit in everywhere yet feel delightfully uncommon. Stateside, her popularity has danced up and down the charts since the Victorian era—never vanishing, always glowing like a lantern set along el camino. Pop-culture keeps her polished: think of Aileen Quinn belting out “Tomorrow,” Olympic swings from golfer Aileen S. or the quiet heroics of countless grandmothers knitting stories into Aran sweaters. With that mix of Celtic mist and sun-kissed optimism, Aileen brings parents a reassuring promise: she’s as warm as an Irish hearth, as spirited as a Latin fiesta, and, above all, a name that carries its own little beam of hope wherever it goes.
Pronunciation
Irish
- Pronunced as AW-leen (/ˈɔːliːn/)
English
- Pronunced as AY-leen (/ˈeɪliːn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Aileen
| Aileen Wuornos was an American serial killer who murdered seven male clients in Florida, claiming self-defense, and was executed in 2002. |
| Aileen Osborn Webb was an American craft patron who founded the American Craft Council and championed the craft movement during the Great Depression. |
| American diver Aileen Muriel Riggin won the 1920 Olympic springboard title and later thrived in acting, coaching, and writing, championing women's swimming for decades. |
| American actress Aileen Marie Quinn is best known for starring as Annie in the 1982 film, earning two Golden Globe nominations. |
| Aileen Lee is an American venture capitalist and co-founder of Cowboy Ventures. |
| Aileen O'Brien - Aileen von Vittinghof gennant Schell zu Schellenburg was an American writer, journalist, and anti-communist activist, best known for her 1938 U.S. lecture tour advocating for the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War. |
| Aileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress in the silent film era. |
| Aileen Stanley, born Maude Elsie Aileen Muggeridge, was a highly popular American singer in the early 1920s. |
| Aileen Mehle, writing as Suzy Knickerbocker, was a renowned American society columnist whose syndicated work reached over 30 million readers during her fifty-year career. |
| Aileen Baviera - Aileen San Pablo-Baviera was a Filipino political scientist and sinologist renowned as a leading expert on China in the Philippines. |
| Aileen Margaret Keel is a Scottish medical doctor and academic who currently directs the Innovative Healthcare Delivery Programme at the University of Edinburgh, following her previous roles as Deputy and Acting Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. |
| Aileen Ward, an American English literature professor, won the National Book Award and Duff Cooper Memorial Prize for her biography "John Keats: The Making of a Poet." |
| Aileen Mary Roberts, the 2nd Countess Roberts, was a British peeress. |
| Aileen May Griffiths was an Australian philanthropist recognized with the Order of Australia and the Centenary Medal for her community service in Sydney's Sutherland Shire. |
| Aileen Passloff was an American dancer and teacher who founded her own dance company, participated in the Judson Dance Theater, and taught at Bard College for 40 years. |
