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Help[Opinions] Eileen
What do you think of Eileen? I had a great-aunt by this name and it's my older sister's middle name (named after my great-aunt, I guess, I never stopped to think about it). My sister thinks it's dumb and I always thought it was dated and dumb but now when I really listen to it I think maybe it's not dumb but instead kind of pretty and charming. I'm not sure whether it's dumb or charming.
WDYTO Eileen?
WDYTO Eileen?
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I don't particularly like it. I find "een" names (Kathleen, Eileen, etc.) sound a bit whiny because of the long "ee" sound.
Also Eileen makes me think of joke names like "Eileen Dover"
Also Eileen makes me think of joke names like "Eileen Dover"
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It's not bad. I knew an Eileen whom I liked. It would be hard to picture on a baby, but not impossible.
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Recently met several girls with this name
At college so roughly around 20, give or take a couple of years, very Irish girls. To me it always sounded dated but I don't know, I think you can pull it off if someone wanted to.
At college so roughly around 20, give or take a couple of years, very Irish girls. To me it always sounded dated but I don't know, I think you can pull it off if someone wanted to.
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I disagree that the song ruined the name. Songs don't really do that. The homophone with "I lean" is more annoying than the song association.
I'm not really a fan of names that stress the second syllable the way Eileen does. And I have issues with its spelling. The EEN is dated IMO. 70 years ago an EEN name probably looked/sounded charmingly exotic but not too "ethnic" ... to me it looks super-midcentury-Americanized, like 'look, I'm not an immigrant.' Anyway now you can spell it Eibhlin (with marks =P) even if you aren't Irish. Or heck, they're naming girls Ireland now. lol
But I think -een probably will not look frumpy to the generation born today so if I really liked Eileen that much myself I'd totally use it for a baby.
I'm not really a fan of names that stress the second syllable the way Eileen does. And I have issues with its spelling. The EEN is dated IMO. 70 years ago an EEN name probably looked/sounded charmingly exotic but not too "ethnic" ... to me it looks super-midcentury-Americanized, like 'look, I'm not an immigrant.' Anyway now you can spell it Eibhlin (with marks =P) even if you aren't Irish. Or heck, they're naming girls Ireland now. lol
But I think -een probably will not look frumpy to the generation born today so if I really liked Eileen that much myself I'd totally use it for a baby.
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I love Eibhlin too, as with so many authentic Irish spellings.
But I do want to point out that the Anglicized / English-friendly spellings happened a lot earlier than just Americans in the mid-1900s. The English were doing it a long time before that (though I haven't been able to pin-point a time period in a quickie google search.)
William Butler Yeats used Cathleen, not Caitlin, in his play "Cathleen ni Houlihan." It's interesting to note that he did use the more authentic "ni" in the surname, meaning "daughter of," yet chose to leave the Christian name Anglicized. The character of Cathleen ni Houlihan in the play is a representation of all Ireland. Another example is "My Dark Rosaleen," a play in which the character of Rosaleen represents Ireland.
One could argue that both Yeats and James Mangan were Anglo-Irish themselves, and that they were writing in English. So purism and authenticity wasn't what they were going for. True enough.
My only point in all of this is to say that the "-een" spellings in Anglicized names like Eileen, Maureen, Cathleen, etc. have a long history and associations deeper than just phonetic simplicity. I don't see them in the same or similar category of the usual creative wonders parents come up with now. Perhaps I'm being too persnickety. To each their own.
But yeah, Eibhlin is a stunner. Gorgeous. :-D
But I do want to point out that the Anglicized / English-friendly spellings happened a lot earlier than just Americans in the mid-1900s. The English were doing it a long time before that (though I haven't been able to pin-point a time period in a quickie google search.)
William Butler Yeats used Cathleen, not Caitlin, in his play "Cathleen ni Houlihan." It's interesting to note that he did use the more authentic "ni" in the surname, meaning "daughter of," yet chose to leave the Christian name Anglicized. The character of Cathleen ni Houlihan in the play is a representation of all Ireland. Another example is "My Dark Rosaleen," a play in which the character of Rosaleen represents Ireland.
One could argue that both Yeats and James Mangan were Anglo-Irish themselves, and that they were writing in English. So purism and authenticity wasn't what they were going for. True enough.
My only point in all of this is to say that the "-een" spellings in Anglicized names like Eileen, Maureen, Cathleen, etc. have a long history and associations deeper than just phonetic simplicity. I don't see them in the same or similar category of the usual creative wonders parents come up with now. Perhaps I'm being too persnickety. To each their own.
But yeah, Eibhlin is a stunner. Gorgeous. :-D
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Yeah, I know they do - I am far too young to recall a time when seeming Irish could have been negative, anyhow. I just associate the -een names with people born between about 1925-55, and the contrast with today's Caitlins and Eilidhs and whatnot makes me feel like the eens are stereotypically 20th century Very American. You're right that seeming American is probably not what people liked about those names - but I don't think at that time a name like Eibhlin would have become popular in the US.
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I don't find it dumb. It seems slightly bland, but it has a pleasant sound and it seems friendly and inviting.
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"Come On, Eileen"
I think it's a cute name, and I like the spelling Aileen even more. But it definitely is associated with the song by Dexys Midnight Runners now.
I think it's a cute name, and I like the spelling Aileen even more. But it definitely is associated with the song by Dexys Midnight Runners now.
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I like Irene and Elaine so much more, I end up never giving Eileen much thought (unless "Come On Eileen" happens to be on the radio).
I guess all the -een names sound dated at this point, but I don't think Eileen is dumb. What would be dumb about it? It has a bright & pretty sound but feels sturdy at the same time.
I guess all the -een names sound dated at this point, but I don't think Eileen is dumb. What would be dumb about it? It has a bright & pretty sound but feels sturdy at the same time.
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I used to think it was dumb because my sister, whose middle name it is, made fun of it a few times. She'd say, "EiLEEEEN", drawing out the second syllable. She did the same thing with Maureen---MauREEEEN.
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My niece is Maureen, nn Mo. Her mother (my SIL) wanted to name her after the most beautiful woman she could think of -- Maureen O'Hara. :-) She's in her early twenties now.
Anyway, my SIL is a grade school teacher and has noticed two or three Maureens in the last few years. They live in a mid-size city on the U.S. west coast. This is a long winded way of saying that it only takes one brave soul naming their child Eileen or Maureen for others to notice. (At least that's what I choose to believe. :-P )
Anyway, my SIL is a grade school teacher and has noticed two or three Maureens in the last few years. They live in a mid-size city on the U.S. west coast. This is a long winded way of saying that it only takes one brave soul naming their child Eileen or Maureen for others to notice. (At least that's what I choose to believe. :-P )
This message was edited 7/3/2012, 10:00 AM
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This is so weird...
I was just about to ask about this name.
I like it, but it makes me think of the Dexy's Midnight Runners song.
I was just about to ask about this name.
I like it, but it makes me think of the Dexy's Midnight Runners song.
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