What does Helen mean?

Helen means "bright one, shining"

How do we pronounce Helen?

Helen \he-len, hel-en\ is a female's name. It consists of 5 letters and 2 syllables.

The baby girl name Helen is pronounced as HHEHLahN (English) 1.

1 Pronunciation for Helen: HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"

What is the origin of Helen?

Helen is an English name of Old Greek origin. The name is of the meaning bright one, shining one. Derived from the element 'helios' meaning sun. The name was borne in Greek mythology and in Homer's Iliad by the beautiful Helen of Troy, who was the daughter of Zeus; her capture by Paris the prince of Troy launched the decade-long Trojan war. The name was also borne in the 3rd century by Emperor Constantine's mother, known from the Latin form Helena. In literature, the name was borne by characters in the William Shakespeare plays Troilus and Cressida (1602) and Cymbeline (1609). The name was first used by English speakers in the 16th century. Helen is a widely used name; it has 153 variations that are used in both English and other languages. Variations used in English include what does the name Elaina mean (also used in French and Spanish), Elaine name variations (also used in French and Welsh), meaning of Elana, Elane name, short names for Elayne, what does the name Eleanor mean, Eleanore definition, Elen meaning and origin (also used in Welsh), Elenora meaning and origin, nicknames for Elenore, Elina name (also used in Finnish, Indian, and Scandinavian), Elionor name popularity, what does the name Elle mean, baby name Ellen (also used in Scandinavian), name Ellie meaning, Elly definition, Ellyn pronounciation, baby name Ellynn, nicknames for Elnora, Heirnine definition, name Helaina origin, short names for Helaine, meaning of Helan, name Helana origin, nicknames for Heleana, meaning of Heleanor, Heleena name variations, short names for Helena (also used in Czech, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Polish, Portuguese, Scandinavian, and Spanish), Helenann name variations, name Helenna, baby name Helenore, baby name Heley, Heli name variations, name Helice, name Helie origin, Helin name popularity, meaning of Helina, Hella pronounciation, short names for Hellena, Hellene pronounciation, Hellenor definition, Hellia meaning of name, Helon meaning and origin, name Helyn origin, meaning of Herene, baby name Holain, Ileana meaning (also used in Hungarian and Romanian), short names for Ilona (also used in Finnish, German, and Hungarian), Lana name, Leanore pronounciation, nicknames for Lena (also used in German, Russian, and Scandinavian), Lenore meaning and origin, name Leona, meaning of Leonora (also used in Italian and Spanish), Leonore name popularity, name Leora, Liana name popularity, name Liora meaning, short names for Nella, name Nelli origin (also used in German), name Nelly meaning, Nora meaning, Norah definition, and Yelena name popularity (also used in Russian). Other English forms include the pet forms Ella meaning (also used in Scandinavian), Nell meaning, and meaning of Nellie, and the variant spellings short names for Helenh and Hellen definition. Foreign variations of Helen include Aileen meaning and origin (Irish), name Aili origin (Finnish), Ale meaning of name (Lithuanian), name Aleen meaning (Celtic), Alena name popularity (Czech, German, Russian, and Slavic), Alenka name popularity (Russian and Slavic), Aliute meaning and origin (Lithuanian), Alyna name (Russian), Eileen meaning and origin (Irish), baby name Eilidh (Gaelic and Scottish), Eleanora definition (Italian), meaning of Elena (Czech, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Slavic, and Spanish), baby name Elene (Greek), meaning of Eleni (Greek), Elenie name (Greek), name Elenita (Spanish), nicknames for Elenitsa (Greek), Elenka name (Czech), Elenoa name popularity (Hawaiian), name Elenola origin (Hawaiian), Elenor name popularity (Spanish), Elenuta definition (Romanian), what does the name Eleonor mean (Spanish), Eleonora meaning of name (Polish and Spanish), Elia meaning of name (Hawaiian), Elianora meaning (Hawaiian), Elin name variations (Scandinavian and Welsh), Elli name variations (German), short names for Ellin (Welsh), baby name Elna (Dutch and Scandinavian), short names for Ena (Irish), Erena definition (Maori), Élaine pronounciation (French), Galina pronounciation (Russian), nicknames for Halina (Russian), Halya meaning and origin (Russian and Ukrainian), Halyna name variations (Russian and Ukrainian), Hela meaning and origin (Czech), Hele meaning (Estonian), name Heleen (Dutch), short names for Helene (French, German, Greek, and Scandinavian), baby name Helenka (Czech), Helle name (Scandinavian), Helli meaning (Finnish), name Heluska (Czech), Hélène definition (French), nicknames for Ila (Hungarian), name Ileanna (Spanish), short names for Ilena (Spanish), Ilene meaning of name (Greek and Irish), name Iliana meaning (Spanish), Ilka meaning (Hungarian and Slavic), Ilke name (Hungarian), Ilonka name variations (German and Hungarian), Iluska name variations (Hungarian), nicknames for Jela (Slavic), Jelena name (Czech and Russian), nicknames for Jelica (Slavic), Jelka name (Hungarian), Laina meaning of name (Finnish), baby name Leena (Estonian), Lelya name popularity (Russian), Lenci name (Hungarian), Lene meaning and origin (German), Leni name variations (German and Spanish), Lenia name (Russian), name Lenio origin (Greek), nicknames for Lenja (Russian), Lenka meaning (Czech, Polish, and Russian), nicknames for Lenni (Estonian), nicknames for Lenora (Spanish), name Leny meaning (German), baby name Lenya (Russian), Leonor name (Spanish), name Lili origin (Russian), Liolya definition (Russian), name Nelya meaning (Russian), name Nitsa (Greek), Olena pronounciation (Russian and Ukrainian), Olenka name (Russian), Onella name popularity (Hungarian), and nicknames for Yalena (Russian). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms what does the name Leen mean (Dutch) and name Leentje (Dutch). See also the related form, Eliana name variations (English, German, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish). Helen is a classic favorite. Today it is still fairly popular as a baby name for girls, though it was in more widespread use before. At the peak of its usage in 1917, 3.048% of baby girls were given the name Helen. Its ranking then was #2. The baby name has since suffered a marked fall in popularity, and is currently of occasional use. In 2010, its usage was only 0.036% and its ranking #437. Out of the group of girl names directly linked to Helen, Ella definition was the most commonly used. In 2010, its use outnumbered Helen's by 14 times. Helen has predominantly been a girl name, though in the past century it has also been used for boys. In 1941, 203 times as many girls than boys were given the name Helen.

The following famous people share the name Helen:

  • Activist Helen Keller, born 27 June 1880 - 1 June 1968, Tuscumbia, Alabama
  • Actress Helen Hayes, born Helen Hayes Brown, 10 October 1900 - 17 March 1993
  • Actress Helen Hunt, born 15 June 1963, Los Angeles, California
  • Actress Helen Mirren, born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov, 26 July 1945, London, England
  • Author Helen Fielding, born 19 February 1959, Morley, Yorkshire, England
  • Author Beatrix Potter, born Helen Beatrix Potter, 28 July 1866 - 22 December 1943, London, England
  • Cartoonist Helen Hokinson, born 29 June 1893 - 1 November 1949, Mendota, Illinois
  • Opera Singer Nellie Melba, born Helen Porter Mitchell, 19 May 1861 - 23 February 1931, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • US First Lady Helen "Nellie" Taft, born Helen Herron, 2 June 1861 - 22 May 1943, Cincinnati, Ohio.

List of baby names Helen:

nicknames for Helan, Hellen pronounciation (English), baby name Helyn, Halam name, Halan name variations, Halein name, name Haleine origin, Halem meaning, nicknames for Halen, Halene meaning of name, what does the name Halin mean, name Halinn, Halinne meaning and origin, short names for Hallam, name Hallan, Hallem meaning and origin, meaning of Hallen, baby name Halyn, Halynn meaning, and Halynne name.

The baby name Helen fun facts:

The name Helen in reverse order is "Neleh".

The numerological value of the name Helen is number 8, which means practical endeavors, status oriented, power-seeking, high-material goals.

How popular is Helen?

Helen is in the top names in USA.

YearUsage
20140.04%
20130.04%
20120.04%
20110.04%
20100.04%
20090.05%
20080.05%
20070.05%
Source: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames