Eila

Possibly a variant of Norwegian Eili, a rare form of Eli (“Helen”). Popularized by the novel Tuskaa (1907) by Väinö Kataja.

• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯lɑ/, [ˈe̞i̯lɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -eilɑ
• Syllabification^(key): Ei‧la

Eila

1. a female given name
   • 1907, Väinö Kataja, Tuskaa, Pilot-kustannus Oy, published 2008, →ISBN, pages 16–17:

     —Eila — jatkoi hän ajatuksiaan. Eila! mikä nimi se lienee? Kai lapinkielinen, ja sievältä se korvissa tuntuu. Kiveliön kävijän tytär...Kuka lieneekin, mutta kaunis on, hurja kuin synti...

     —Eila — she continued her thoughts. Eila! what kind of a name is that? Of Sami origin, perhaps, and has a pleasant ring to it. The daughter of someone roaming the wilderness...whoever it is, but beautiful it is, almost sinfully wind...

   • 2001, Matti Yrjänä Joensuu, Harjunpää ja kapteeni Karhu, Otava, →ISBN, page 16:

     Nalle alkoi tuntea olevansa Rositan yläpuolella. Hän ajatteli vielä Eilaa. Eila oli tuon naisen oikea nimi. Se oli aivan tavallinen ja väritön nimi. Ihmisen, jolla oli se, täytyi olla pohjimmiltaan samanlainen.

     Nalle was starting to feel he was above Rosita. He was still thinking of Eila, the real name of that woman. It was an ordinary, uninteresting name. Someone named that must have such a character too.

• Popular in Finland from the 1920s to the 1940s.

• Eila is the 34^th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 17,639 female individuals (and as a middle name to 2,498 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

• Elia