Fun Facts About the Name Eline
- 390 babies named Eline: U.S. records list 390 babies given the name Eline from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Eline Mean?
Eline is a feminine given name whose meaning is not settled. It is usually traced to the Greek name Helenē (Latin Helena), best known from Helen of Troy. Ancient writers connected Helenē either to Greek helenē, "torch," or to selēnē, "moon," and other scholars treat it as a pre-Greek name whose original sense is lost. These are competing explanations rather than an agreed translation, so the customary gloss of "light" or "torch" rests on one of several guesses.
In Scandinavia, Eline is normally described as a variant of Elin, a Nordic short form of Helena. In Dutch and Flemish use, Eline is likewise treated as a short form of Helena or Elena, and it can also serve as the short form of longer names ending in -eline, such as Adeline ("noble") or Caroline ("free man"), which come from Germanic roots rather than from Greek. Because more than one parent name is possible, the meaning attached to a particular bearer is not fixed.
Eline Name History & Origins
The name belongs to a large family that grew out of Helena, the Greek name of the mythological Helen and of Saint Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine. Veneration of Saint Helena carried her name through medieval Europe, where it took local shapes: Hélène in French, Elena in Italian and Spanish, Heleen and Elena in Dutch, and Helena, Elin, Elina and Eline in the Nordic countries. The short Nordic forms Elin and Elina belong to the medieval stock of Scandinavian names.
Eline appears in both Dutch-Flemish and Scandinavian naming, and the two traditions are generally treated as parallel shortenings of the same Helena family rather than as one borrowing from the other. In France, Éline is used as a variant of Hélène and as a short form of Adeline or Caroline. The name is well known in the Netherlands from Louis Couperus's novel Eline Vere (1889), whose title character gave Eline a lasting literary association; the novel is a famous use of the name, not its source.
How Popular is the Name Eline?
Eline has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2020. Its best rank was #1,873 in 1903.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,593 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #5,986 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2023 | #5,429 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2022 | #6,795 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2021 | #5,447 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2020 | #5,055 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #6,498 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #8,767 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #9,500 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #11,114 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #13,404 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #12,245 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #13,916 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #17,559 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #15,526 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #18,121 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #16,088 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #16,204 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #14,415 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #13,803 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #12,369 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #6,859 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #7,056 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #4,841 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #4,870 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #3,520 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1937 | #4,430 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #4,399 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,116 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #4,334 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #2,913 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1926 | #3,988 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #4,120 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #3,732 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1921 | #5,334 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #3,168 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #3,284 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1918 | #4,436 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1917 | #3,820 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1915 | #3,211 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1913 | #2,391 | 8 | 0.0013% |
| 1912 | #2,025 | 9 | 0.0016% |
| 1903 | #1,873 | 5 | 0.0019% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Eline Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are fine when in harmony but changeable when in discord, because many of your best qualities are then reversed. You are entertaining but may be impulsive. Freedom is a necessity, and you find it difficult to settle down. Your versatility results in many changes, and often brings travel. Your fine intellect is capable of high honors if applied seriously. You are capable of inspired thinking applied to material things. You can be restless, changeable, and very sexy. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Eline's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Eline's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.