Helen
Featured in baby name books
Helen is a Greek name meaning “light,” “torch,” or “sunbeam,” and has spun off many forms such as Ellen, Elena, Elaine, and Ilona. In Greek myth Helen was the world’s most beautiful woman, whose flight with Paris sparked the Trojan War; Constantine’s mother Helena later made it popular among Christians. Famous Helens include Helen Keller, the first deaf-blind person ever to earn a college degree, as well as the actresses Hayes and Hunt. Helen ranked in the U.S. top three from 1900 to 1924; Helen Benson saves Earth from the robot Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Badass Baby Names, Sci-Fi Baby Names
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Usage of Helen in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching Helen against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if Helen is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
Helen in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 668 girls were named Helen, making it the #461 girls' name in the US. Since 1880, 1,024,202 girls have been named Helen, with the most (36,148) in 1918. It is most common, relative to births, in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
Helen in other languages
- Helena Catalan, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Slovenian
- Elena Dutch, Italian, Latvian, Romanian, Spanish
- Lena Dutch, English, German, Italian, Polish
- Ellen Dutch, English, Estonian, Swedish
- Helene Danish, Dutch, Norwegian
- Hélène Dutch, French
- Lene Danish, Norwegian
- Alena Czech
- Leena Finnish
- Lenka Czech
- Lenuța Romanian
- Olena English
- Јелена Serbian
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Storms named Helen
Tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that have been named Helen, newest first.
| Storm | Year | Ocean | Peak wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclone Helen (Category 1) | 2013 | North Indian Ocean | 130 km/h |
| Tropical storm Helen | 2008 | South Indian Ocean | 93 km/h |
| Typhoon Helen (Category 1) | 1995 | Western Pacific | 130 km/h |
| Tropical storm Helen | 1992 | Western Pacific | 83 km/h |
| Tropical storm Helen | 1975 | Western Pacific | 83 km/h |
| Cyclone Helen (Category 1) | 1974 | South Indian Ocean | 130 km/h |
| Typhoon Helen (Category 3) | 1972 | Western Pacific | 185 km/h |
| Tropical storm Helen | 1970 | South Pacific | 74 km/h |
| Typhoon Helen (Category 3) | 1969 | Western Pacific | 194 km/h |
| Tropical storm Helen | 1966 | Western Pacific | 111 km/h |
…and 5 earlier storms.
Source: IBTrACS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Peak wind is the highest sustained wind recorded for the storm.
Towns named Helen
There are 31 towns and villages with Helen in their name, in 11 countries.
🇺🇸 United States 18🇦🇺 Australia 3🇬🇧 United Kingdom 2🇦🇹 Austria 1🇧🇪 Belgium 1🇨🇦 Canada 1🇩🇪 Germany 1🇫🇷 France 1
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Helen | Florida, 🇺🇸 United States | 2,687 | Map |
| Saint Helen | Michigan, 🇺🇸 United States | 2,668 | Map |
| Saint-Hélen | Brittany, 🇫🇷 France | 1,093 | Map |
| Helen | Georgia, 🇺🇸 United States | 532 | Map |
| Helen-Bos | Flanders, 🇧🇪 Belgium | 509 | Map |
| Helen | West Virginia, 🇺🇸 United States | 219 | Map |
| Glen Helen | Northern Territory, 🇦🇺 Australia | – | Map |
| Glen Helen | Queensland, 🇦🇺 Australia | – | Map |
| Helen | Bavaria, 🇩🇪 Germany | – | Map |
| Helen | Khomas Region, 🇳🇦 Namibia | – | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named Helen
There are 73 lakes and reservoirs with Helen in their name, in 3 countries.
🇺🇸 United States 48🇨🇦 Canada 24🇦🇺 Australia 1
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Helen Lake | Manitoba, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Helen songs
20 songs and musical works on Wikidata have Helen in their title. The best known:
- Helen Wheels – Wings (1973)
- Hey, Hey Helen – Benny Andersson
- Helen Lundeberg/Eyeliner – Sonic Youth (2006)
- Hand a Handkerchief to Helen – Susan Maughan (1963)
- Happy Birthday Helen – Things of Stone and Wood (1992)
- Helen – Helen Shapiro
- Helen of Kirkconnel
- Helen's Hit Parade – Helen Shapiro
- Dat ic mijn lijden aldus helen moet – Johann Agricola
- FOR HELEN AND LUCAS
Song data: Wikidata (CC0), ordered by how widely each song is covered on Wikipedia.
Celebrities named Helen
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name Helen.
Helen Alfredsson
Helen C. White
Helen Cornelius
Helen Czerski
See more...
Fictional characters named Helen
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
Helen as a pet name
FurryName has found 46 dogs named Helen in public pet registers, making it the #3,691 dog name there. Most of them are registered in New York City (27), Burlington (1), Playford (1). Helen as a dog name →
Helen products
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