Helen - Name Meaning and Origin

Name:

Helen

Pronunciation:

/ˈhɛlən/

Gender:

Female

Origin:

Greek

Religion:

Meaning:

Light, torch, bright

Variations:

Helena; Helene; Ellen; Eleni; Elena; Yelena; Ilona; Helenka; Hella; Nellie

Helen, derived from the Greek word "helene" meaning "torch" or "corposant," has roots deeply embedded in Greek mythology and history. The name is famously associated with Helen of Troy, whose beauty was said to have launched the Trojan War. This mythological connection has imbued the name with connotations of beauty and allure. Historically, Helen has been a popular name across Europe, with variations like Helena and Elena appearing in many languages. In Christianity, Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is a notable bearer, contributing to the name's religious significance. The name has been used predominantly for females, though it remains unisex in some cultures. In terms of popularity, Helen saw a peak in the early 20th century in English-speaking countries but has since declined, though it remains a classic choice. Regionally, Helen is more common in countries with strong Greek cultural influences. Today, Helen continues to be appreciated for its timeless elegance and historical depth. Sibling names often include classic names like James, Elizabeth, or William. Individuals named Helen are often perceived as intelligent, charismatic, and strong-willed.

Popularity of The Name Helen

Helen's popularity peaked in the early 20th century in the United States and the United Kingdom. It remains a classic choice, though less common today. The name is popular in countries with Greek cultural influence like Greece and Cyprus.

Famous People Named Helen

Helen Keller

American author and disability rights advocate

Helen Mirren

British actress

Helen Hunt

American actress

Helen Sharman

British astronaut

Helen Fielding

British author of Bridget Jones's Diary

Interesting Facts About the Name Helen

Most common surname :

Smith, Johnson, Brown

Most common spouse name :

John, Michael, David

Most common child name :

James, Elizabeth, William

Peak birth year :

1918 in the United States

Characteristics :

Intelligent, charismatic, strongwilled

Professional orientation :

Often found in creative and leadership roles

Historical significance :

Associated with Helen of Troy and Saint Helena

Pop culture significance :

Helen Fielding's character Bridget Jones

Linguistic origin :

Derived from Greek "helene" meaning "torch" or "corposant

Explore Your Genealogy

The most popular genealogy profiles named Helen

Helen Smith	Helen Brown	Helen Johnson	Helen Miller
Helen Murphy	Helen Sullivan	Helen Kelly	Helen Martin
Helen Jones	Helen Wilson	Helen Anderson	Helen M
Helen Ryan	Helen Williams	Helen Davis	Helen White
Helen O-Brien	Helen Scott	Helen Walsh	Helen Clark
Helen Moore	Helen Kennedy	Helen Campbell	Helen Thompson
Helen Taylor	Helen Butler	Helen Hill	Helen Baker
Helen Murray	Helen Adams	Helen Graham	Helen Stewart
Helen Allen	Helen Morris	Helen Collins	Helen Roberts
Helen Harris	Helen Young	Helen Mitchell	Helen Lee
Helen Turner	Helen Hall	Helen Thomas	Helen McDonald
Helen Ross	Helen Bell	Helen Parker	Helen Cook
Helen Burke	Helen McCarthy	Helen Green	Helen Wood
Helen Flynn	Helen Armstrong	Helen Fisher	Helen Hayes
Helen Burns	Helen Macdonald	Helen Alexander	Helen Brennan
Helen Robertson	Helen Henderson	Helen Oliver	Helen Walker
Helen Robinson	Helen Edwards	Helen Carter	Helen O-Connor
Helen Carroll	Helen King	Helen Rogers	Helen Marshall
Helen Morgan	Helen Cohen	Helen A	Helen Gallagher
Helen Doyle	Helen Hamilton	Helen Gordon	Helen Lewis
Helen Hughes	Helen Lynch	Helen Hunter	Helen Bennett
Helen Gray	Helen Simpson	Helen Perry	Helen Clarke
Helen Hart	Helen Barry	Helen Powers	Helen Maloney
Helen Fitzgerald	Helen Fitzpatrick	Helen James	Helen E
Helen Morrison	Helen Donovan	Helen Ferguson	Helen Davidson
Helen Harrison	Helen Daly	Helen Quinn	Helen Henry
Helen Ward	Helen Wright	Helen Thomson	Helen Ellis
Helen Matthews	Helen Simmons	Helen Phillips	Helen Cooper
Helen Crawford	Helen Bishop	Helen Jackson	Helen Wallace
Helen Barnes	Helen Dunn	Helen Higgins	Helen Peterson
Helen Price	Helen C	Helen Andrews	Helen Black
Helen Fleming	Helen McGrath	Helen Cameron	Helen Bailey
Helen Shaw	Helen Chapman	Helen Stevens	Helen Foster
Helen Richards	Helen R	Helen Griffin	Helen Howard
Helen Shea	Helen Driscoll	Helen Jordan	Helen Hopkins
Helen Cole	Helen V	Helen Harvey	Helen Gardner
Helen McGuire	Helen Reynolds	Helen O-Connell	Helen Farrell
Helen Casey	Helen Cronin	Helen Sweeney	Helen Douglas
Helen McLean	Helen Peters	Helen J	Helen Lyons
Helen Reed	Helen Cox	Helen O-Malley	Helen Ford
Helen Cunningham	Helen Connors	Helen Best	Helen Grzych
Helen Dennis	Helen Hawkins	Helen Palmer	Helen Bradley
Helen Grant	Helen Hicks	Helen Devries	Helen L
Helen Hudson	Helen Mills	Helen T	Helen Connolly
Helen McKenzie	Helen Riley	Helen Welsh	Helen Rice
Helen MC-Carthy	Helen Mackenzie	Helen Barber	Helen Hoffman
Helen Russell	Helen Wells	Helen Caldwell	Helen Golden
Helen Marks	Helen Flaherty	Helen Richardson	Helen Wheeler
Helen Harper	Helen Harrington	Helen Patterson	Helen Hickey
Helen Foley	Helen Connelly	Helen Buckley	Helen Welch
Helen Kane	Helen Reilly	Helen O-Neil	Helen Toth
Helen Saunders	Helen Brooks	Helen Bryant	Helen Warner
Helen Schmidt	Helen Gauthier	Helen Woods	Helen O-Grady
Helen Barrett	Helen Simon	Helen F	Helen Hogan
Helen Leonard	Helen Lambert	Helen Carr	Helen Conway
Helen Carey	Helen Connor	Helen Delaney	Helen O-Donnell
Helen Pelletier	Helen Webb	Helen Ray	Helen Norton
Helen Pike	Helen Miles	Helen Hunt	Helen Wall
Helen Barker	Helen Evans	Helen Fraser	Helen Frank
Helen Kerr	Helen Long	Helen Enright	Helen McLaughlin
Helen Burgess	Helen Coleman	Helen Daniels	Helen Knight
Helen Meyer	Helen Herman	Helen Hubert	Helen Callahan
Helen McCormick	Helen Stone	Helen Hurley	Helen Myers
Helen Snow	Helen Montgomery	Helen Cramer	Helen Pepin
Helen Nolan	Helen Johnston	Helen Brady	Helen Jennings
Helen Lowe	Helen Boyd	Helen Holmes	Helen McCann
Helen Larkin	Helen Potter	Helen McKenna	Helen Cahill
Helen Moran	Helen Power	Helen Doherty	Helen MC-Donald
Helen Poyser	Helen Maxwell	Helen Weber	Helen Roth
Helen Friesen	Helen Duncan	Helen Berry	Helen Dawson
Helen Lawrence	Helen Logan	Helen Greene	Helen McMahon
Helen Burton	Helen Fuller	Helen Schneider	Helen Yaworski
Helen Stuart	Helen Nelson	Helen Dolan	Helen Keating
Helen Mason	Helen Porter	Helen Arnold	Helen Holden
Helen Snyder	Helen Auerbach	Helen Dean	Helen Sutherland
Helen Gibson	Helen Reid	Helen Carpenter	Helen Cummings
Helen Gould	Helen Tierney	Helen Fox	Helen Franklin
Helen Duffy	Helen Pearson	Helen Rhodes	Helen Fields
Helen Wilkinson	Helen Mooney	Helen Kelley	Helen Albert
Helen Roach	Helen Clancy	Helen Donahue	Helen Cleary
Helen Sheehan	Helen McDonell	Helen Broderick	Helen Jakubczyk
Helen Kostick	Helen Conradson	Helen George	Helen Byrd
Helen Ewell	Helen Nichols	Helen Rose	Helen Stephens
Helen Cannon	Helen Novak	Helen Richmond	Helen Findlay
Helen Gilbert	Helen Jensen	Helen Kay	Helen Marie
Helen Powell	Helen Davies	Helen Stevenson	Helen May
Helen Walters	Helen D	Helen S	Helen Curtis
Helen McGregor	Helen Hardy	Helen Leblanc	Helen Nicholson
Helen McGee	Helen Norris	Helen Forbes	Helen Holland
Helen Newton	Helen Savage	Helen Donnelly	Helen Purcell
Helen Mott	Helen Menard	Helen Mazur	Helen Waters
Helen Howe	Helen Lang	Helen Daley	Helen Mullen
Helen Boyle	Helen Healy	Helen Hebert	Helen Manning
Helen Gorman	Helen O-Hara	Helen Dwyer	Helen Jania
Helen Atkinson	Helen Mack	Helen Cormier	Helen Goldberg
Helen Jenkins	Helen Bauer	Helen Currie	Helen Donohue
Helen Gagnon	Helen Forrest	Helen Freeman	Helen Hanson
Helen Keith	Helen Webster	Helen Schultz	Helen Briggs
Helen Stanton	Helen Sutton	Helen Lane	Helen McAllister
Helen McCoy	Helen O-Keefe	Helen Warren	Helen B

The most popular genealogy profiles named Helen

Helen Smith	Helen Brown
Helen Johnson	Helen Miller
Helen Murphy	Helen Sullivan
Helen Kelly	Helen Martin
Helen Jones	Helen Wilson
Helen Anderson	Helen M
Helen Ryan	Helen Williams
Helen Davis	Helen White
Helen O-Brien	Helen Scott
Helen Walsh	Helen Clark
Helen Moore	Helen Kennedy
Helen Campbell	Helen Thompson
Helen Taylor	Helen Butler
Helen Hill	Helen Baker
Helen Murray	Helen Adams
Helen Graham	Helen Stewart
Helen Allen	Helen Morris
Helen Collins	Helen Roberts
Helen Harris	Helen Young
Helen Mitchell	Helen Lee
Helen Turner	Helen Hall
Helen Thomas	Helen McDonald
Helen Ross	Helen Bell
Helen Parker	Helen Cook
Helen Burke	Helen McCarthy
Helen Green	Helen Wood
Helen Flynn	Helen Armstrong
Helen Fisher	Helen Hayes
Helen Burns	Helen Macdonald
Helen Alexander	Helen Brennan
Helen Robertson	Helen Henderson
Helen Oliver	Helen Walker
Helen Robinson	Helen Edwards
Helen Carter	Helen O-Connor
Helen Carroll	Helen King
Helen Rogers	Helen Marshall
Helen Morgan	Helen Cohen
Helen A	Helen Gallagher
Helen Doyle	Helen Hamilton
Helen Gordon	Helen Lewis
Helen Hughes	Helen Lynch
Helen Hunter	Helen Bennett
Helen Gray	Helen Simpson
Helen Perry	Helen Clarke
Helen Hart	Helen Barry
Helen Powers	Helen Maloney
Helen Fitzgerald	Helen Fitzpatrick
Helen James	Helen E
Helen Morrison	Helen Donovan
Helen Ferguson	Helen Davidson
Helen Harrison	Helen Daly
Helen Quinn	Helen Henry
Helen Ward	Helen Wright
Helen Thomson	Helen Ellis
Helen Matthews	Helen Simmons
Helen Phillips	Helen Cooper
Helen Crawford	Helen Bishop
Helen Jackson	Helen Wallace
Helen Barnes	Helen Dunn
Helen Higgins	Helen Peterson
Helen Price	Helen C
Helen Andrews	Helen Black
Helen Fleming	Helen McGrath
Helen Cameron	Helen Bailey
Helen Shaw	Helen Chapman
Helen Stevens	Helen Foster
Helen Richards	Helen R
Helen Griffin	Helen Howard
Helen Shea	Helen Driscoll
Helen Jordan	Helen Hopkins
Helen Cole	Helen V
Helen Harvey	Helen Gardner
Helen McGuire	Helen Reynolds
Helen O-Connell	Helen Farrell
Helen Casey	Helen Cronin
Helen Sweeney	Helen Douglas
Helen McLean	Helen Peters
Helen J	Helen Lyons
Helen Reed	Helen Cox
Helen O-Malley	Helen Ford
Helen Cunningham	Helen Connors
Helen Best	Helen Grzych
Helen Dennis	Helen Hawkins
Helen Palmer	Helen Bradley
Helen Grant	Helen Hicks
Helen Devries	Helen L
Helen Hudson	Helen Mills
Helen T	Helen Connolly
Helen McKenzie	Helen Riley
Helen Welsh	Helen Rice
Helen MC-Carthy	Helen Mackenzie
Helen Barber	Helen Hoffman
Helen Russell	Helen Wells
Helen Caldwell	Helen Golden
Helen Marks	Helen Flaherty
Helen Richardson	Helen Wheeler
Helen Harper	Helen Harrington
Helen Patterson	Helen Hickey
Helen Foley	Helen Connelly
Helen Buckley	Helen Welch

Similar names to Helen

Explore names phonetically similar to Helen to help you discover related genealogy records.

Elea	Eleanor	Elina	Ellen
Helena	Helene

Explore names phonetically similar to Helen to help you discover related genealogy records.

Elea	Eleanor
Elina	Ellen
Helena	Helene

Explore first names - their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Continue to explore other first names and their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Alfred	Alicia	Amelia	Cecilia
Claire	Corinne	Dana	Elisa
Gerald	Leonidas	Liliette	Louisa
Marc	Mario	Milton	Nadia
Phyllis	Terence	Viola	Zelia

Continue to explore other first names and their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Alfred	Alicia
Amelia	Cecilia
Claire	Corinne
Dana	Elisa
Gerald	Leonidas
Liliette	Louisa
Marc	Mario
Milton	Nadia
Phyllis	Terence
Viola	Zelia

Common family names with Helen

Discover common family names associated with the first name Helen to help you find related genealogy records.

Family Name	Popularity
Smith	0.6%
Brown	0.43%
Johnson	0.32%
Miller	0.31%
Murphy	0.28%
Sullivan	0.27%
Kelly	0.25%
Martin	0.24%
Jones	0.23%
Anderson	0.23%
Wilson	0.23%
Ryan	0.21%
Williams	0.2%
Davis	0.19%
White	0.18%
Scott	0.17%
O-Brien	0.17%
Walsh	0.17%
Clark	0.17%
Moore	0.16%