# Helen (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/helen/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛlən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Nellie, Hel |
| Variant spellings | Helon |
| US babies named this | 1,027,307 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,105 / 1,024,202 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,413, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From French Hélène, from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Elaine.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 731 | 429 |
| 2012 | 772 | 403 |
| 2013 | 740 | 411 |
| 2014 | 802 | 403 |
| 2015 | 767 | 419 |
| 2016 | 816 | 409 |
| 2017 | 764 | 418 |
| 2018 | 745 | 415 |
| 2019 | 743 | 429 |
| 2020 | 721 | 426 |
| 2021 | 704 | 444 |
| 2022 | 749 | 422 |
| 2023 | 777 | 395 |
| 2024 | 728 | 425 |
| 2025 | 668 | 462 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 6 | 5,043 |
| 1976 | 9 | 3,836 |
| 1977 | 6 | 5,389 |
| 1978 | 5 | 6,169 |
| 1979 | 5 | 6,428 |
| 1984 | 7 | 5,181 |
| 1985 | 6 | 6,066 |
| 1986 | 6 | 6,233 |
| 1988 | 7 | 6,022 |
| 1989 | 10 | 4,960 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,702 |
| 1991 | 5 | 8,689 |
| 1993 | 5 | 9,258 |
| 1994 | 5 | 9,351 |
| 2004 | 5 | 12,004 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 53 | 721 |
| 2012 | 60 | 690 |
| 2013 | 64 | 639 |
| 2014 | 51 | 763 |
| 2015 | 53 | 735 |
| 2016 | 68 | 622 |
| 2017 | 67 | 624 |
| 2018 | 63 | 641 |
| 2019 | 51 | 749 |
| 2020 | 49 | 749 |
| 2021 | 46 | 788 |
| 2022 | 40 | 876 |
| 2023 | 33 | 1,030 |
| 2024 | 41 | 885 |
| 2025 | 52 | 705 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: هِيلِين, هِيلِين
- Armenian: Հեղինե
- Bulgarian: Еле́на
- Catalan: Helena, Elena
- Chinese: 海倫 /海伦
- Czech: Helena
- Danish: Helene
- Dutch: Eliene, Leen
- Esperanto: Heleno
- Estonian: Helena
- Finnish: Helena
- French: Hélène
- Georgian: ელენე
- German: Helene
- Greek: Ελένη, Έλενα
- Hebrew: הִילְנִי
- Hungarian: Ilona, Helén, Heléna
- Icelandic: Elín, Helena
- Irish: Léan
- Italian: Elena

## People named Helen

- Helen Keller, American deafblind author, political activist, lecturer, scholar (1880-1968)
- Helen Mirren, British actress (born 1945)
- Helen Hunt, American actress
- Helen Hayes, American actress (1900–1993)
- Helen McCrory, British actress (1968–2021)
- Helen Fielding, English novelist and screenwriter (born 1958)
- Helen Sharman, British chemist who became the first Briton in space
- Helen Thomas, American author and journalist
- Helen Herron Taft, First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913
- Helen Frankenthaler, American painter (1928–2011)
- Helen Reddy, Australian and American singer and actress (1941–2020)
- Helen Wills, American tennis player (1905–1998)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.