Eila
A feminine name of Semitic origin meaning "tree".
Name Census estimates that about 1,560 living Americans carry the first name Eila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eila today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eila births was 2020 (156 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eila. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Eila with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Eila is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 219,714 Americans
Peak year
2020
156 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,956
Tracked since 1912
Census
Eila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,173 people with the first name Eila, which placed it at #11,087 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,087
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,173 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eila is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.4%) and Two or More Races (7.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eila described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 872
- Hispanic or Latino12.4% · 145
- Two or more races7.0% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 49
- Black or African American2.0% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Eila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eila from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 751 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eila by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Eila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Eila, while Minnesota, Arizona, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eila
The name Eila has its origins in the Finnish language, where it is a diminutive form of the name Eila, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Aila. The name gained popularity in Finland during the early 20th century, though its roots can be traced back to the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eila can be found in the Finnish epic poem Kalevala, which was compiled from traditional folk poetry and published in the 19th century. In the poem, Eila is mentioned as the name of a mythical figure, a beautiful maiden who is courted by several suitors.
The name Eila has also been associated with the Norse goddess Eir, who was revered as the goddess of healing and medical skill. This connection may have contributed to the name's popularity in Scandinavian countries, where variations like Eila and Eyla were used.
In terms of historical figures, one of the earliest notable individuals with the name Eila was Eila Hiltunen (1922-2003), a Finnish author and poet who wrote extensively about her experiences during World War II. Her works, such as "Sota ja rauha" (War and Peace), provided a unique perspective on the impact of the war on civilian life.
Another prominent figure was Eila Campbell (1915-1994), a British writer and journalist who worked for several newspapers and authored several books on travel and culture. She is particularly known for her book "The Silk Road: A Journey from the Middle East to Central Asia," which documented her adventures along the ancient trade route.
In the realm of sports, Eila Pieniniemi (1942-2004) was a Finnish cross-country skier who won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals in the 1960s and 1970s. She was a pioneering figure in women's cross-country skiing and helped pave the way for greater recognition of the sport.
In the field of music, Eila Pellinen (1938-2017) was a Finnish singer and actress who enjoyed a successful career spanning over five decades. She was particularly renowned for her performances in operettas and musicals, and her powerful voice and stage presence made her a beloved figure in Finnish cultural circles.
Finally, Eila Liiku (1911-1988) was a Finnish sculptor and artist known for her abstract and modernist works. Her sculptures, often made of bronze or stone, explored themes of nature, movement, and the human form. Several of her pieces can be found in public spaces and museums throughout Finland.
People
Eila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eila as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,560 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eila going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 219,714 US residents.
Is Eila a common name?
We classify Eila as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,791 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eila most popular?
The single biggest year for Eila was 2020, when 156 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eila is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,173 people with the name Eila, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,087 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eila in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eila appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,176 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eila is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.4%) and Two or More Races (7.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (872 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eila in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Eila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eila in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eila can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Eila?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Eila at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.