# Helm (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/helm/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,649 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,087 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 26,504 people |
| Change since 2000 | -30.2% (16,700 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Two main origins: * An English topographic surname for someone who lived by or worked at a temporary shelter for animals, from Middle English helm (“a helmet; a protection”). * Borrowed from German Helm (“a helmet”), metonymic occupational surname for a maker of helmets.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Helm in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Helm in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

## People named Helm

- Levon Helm, American musician (1940–2012)
- Anne Helm, American actress and author, born 1938
- Mathew Helm, Australian diver
- Zach Helm, American film director
- Fay Helm, actress (1909-2003)
- Amy Helm, American singer-songwriter
- Alexander Knox Helm, British diplomat (1893–1964)

## Similar surnames

Holm, Halm, Hellen, Houlihan, Hollon, Hallam, Hollen, Hulme, Hallum, Hulin, Hillen, Holen.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.