Helen

Primarily a girl's name · 100% girls

Meaning

Helen is a feminine given name derived from the Ancient Greek name Ἑλένη, Helenē, which descends from Proto-Hellenic *Ηwelénā, from a pre-Hellenic or late Proto-Indo-European *Swelénā, ultimately derived from the Indo-European root *swel-. The name is of uncertain origin.

From Wikipedia

Helen first appears in the data in 1952 and has been recorded in 36 different years as a girl's name. Its single biggest year was 1960 with 777 babies (rank #12 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Helen

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Helen yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

8Destiny numberThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
7PersonalityThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

14,569

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

777

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Girls

Also a character in

In Greek Mythology: Helen of Troy — face that launched a thousand ships
In The Brontë Novels: Helen Burns — Jane's friend at Lowood
In The Brontë Novels: Helen Graham — Anne's tenant of Wildfell Hall

Famous people named Helen

Helen Kellerautobiographer · b. 1880
Helen Mirrenfilm actor · b. 1945
Helen Clarkuniversity teacher · b. 1950
Helen Huntfilm actor · b. 1963
Helen Hayesautobiographer · b. 1900

More popular girls' names

Other girls' names starting with H

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all girls' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1952	648	#9
1953	648	#9
1954	612	#9
1955	577	#10
1956	604	#9
1957	536	#16
1958	510	#18
1959	515	#16
1960	777	#12
1961	736	#18
1962	695	#19
1963	645	#20
1964	683	#18
1965	630	#18
1966	592	#18
1967	552	#18
1968	551	#18
1969	520	#20
1970	457	#27
1971	408	#38
1972	350	#44
1973	320	#45
1974	317	#43
1975	256	#52
1976	258	#47
1977	217	#55
1978	183	#65
1979	182	#65
1980	156	#73
1981	136	#81
1982	156	#79
1983	53	#104
1984	48	#107
1985	37	#113
2014	3	#474
2017	1	#1,612