Helen
Greek Helene, of uncertain origin; often tied to helene “torch” or to a root for brightness.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Helen of Troy, 'the face that launched a thousand ships'; for the WWI generation it was the runner-up girls' name behind Mary.
Helen appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1880 to 1958. It spent 45 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1918, when 36,148 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 2 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 461 for girls. All told, 1,027,307 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Helene (33,334), Hellen (8,353), Helyn (1,084), Helon (671) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Ellen, Elaine, Eileen, Nellie, Elena, Lainey
Explore Helen interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 11,496 | No. 16 |
| 1890s | 37,802 | No. 3 |
| 1900s | 69,428 | No. 2 |
| 1910s | 248,154 | No. 2 |
| 1920s | 290,404 | No. 3 |
| 1930s | 140,426 | No. 4 |
| 1940s | 90,742 | No. 18 |
| 1950s | 57,580 | No. 50 |
| 1960s | 29,099 | No. 117 |
| 1970s | 11,476 | No. 191 |
| 1980s | 8,413 | No. 272 |
| 1990s | 8,403 | No. 307 |
| 2000s | 8,847 | No. 333 |
| 2010s | 7,585 | No. 403 |
| 2020s | 4,347 | No. 395 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.