How common is the surname Helm?

11,649 people in the United States had the surname Helm in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,504 Americans. It ranked 3,087th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Helm?

Levon Helm, American musician (1940–2012), followed by Anne Helm.

Where is the surname Helm most common?

Wikidata records people named Helm in the United States, Canada and Australia and 1 other country.

Is the surname Helm getting more or less common?

Less common. 16,700 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,649 in 2010, down 30%.

The surname Helm

A German occupational surname, carried by 11,649 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex H450

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Helm is more common than 98.1% of them.

Origin

German origin

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.

Helm is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 11,649 people named Helm in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 26,504 Americans. That is down 30% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,700.

#3,087

rank among US surnames

11,649

people in 2010

4.0

per 100,000 Americans

-30.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,991)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,078	McAlister	11,665	26,468
#3,079	Lyman	11,664	26,470
#3,080	Sommer	11,662	26,474
#3,082	McHenry	11,660	26,479
#3,083	Cason	11,657	26,486
#3,084	Faulk	11,656	26,488
#3,086	Bigelow	11,650	26,502

Who is named Helm

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Helm identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as two or more races.

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Helms

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Levon Helm
American musician (1940–2012)
Anne Helm
American actress and author, born 1938
Mathew Helm
Australian diver, born 1980
Zach Helm
American film director, born 1975
Fay Helm
Actress (1909-2003)
Amy Helm
American singer-songwriter, born 1970
Alexander Knox Helm
British diplomat (1893–1964)

Notable Helms come mostly from the United States (4), Canada (1) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Helm

Helm has the Soundex code H450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H450.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Helm come from?: 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.
How common is the surname Helm?: 11,649 people in the United States had the surname Helm in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,504 Americans. It ranked 3,087th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Helm?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Helm identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Helm?: Levon Helm, American musician (1940–2012), followed by Anne Helm.
Where is the surname Helm most common?: Wikidata records people named Helm in the United States, Canada and Australia and 1 other country.
What type of surname is Helm?: Helm is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Helm getting more or less common?: Less common. 16,700 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,649 in 2010, down 30%.