Ileen vs Ilena
American parents have registered 2,152 Ileens since 1880, against 702 Ilenas. But in 2025 it was Ilena that was commoner, 16 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Ileen Ilena
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 117 years in which either name was published, Ileen for 98 years and Ilena for 19 years. The lead changed hands 9 times.
Side by side
| Ileen | Ilena | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,152 | 702 |
| Most in one year | 51 | 22 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 16 |
| Estimated living today | 1,200 | 580 |
| Median age today | 47 | 22 |
| Peak year | 1924 | 2008 |
| Best rank | 1,096th girls | 6,130th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 6,838th |
| First recorded | 1895 | 1915 |
| Girls / boys | 2,152 / 0 | 702 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Ileens alive today are over 47; half the Ilenas are over 22. That is 25 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Ileen and Ilena.