first name
HELEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 280,357 people named Helen, 72.4% reported their origin as White, 10.9% as Black and 7.2% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Helen peaked in 1918, when 36,228 babies got the name.
At least 1,027,307 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Helen by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #3. The largest share of babies named Helen, 54.4%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Helen is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Helen has been most common in Pennsylvania (2.1×), West Virginia (1.9×), and Montana (1.7×), and least common in Nevada (0.21×).
904,107 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Helen
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Helen, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Helen ranks #45,684 of 156,621, with 504 people. See Helen as a last name
Compare
🔎 HELEN 🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 1,077 Americans More common than 59.3% of us Peaked in 1918 with 36,228 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/helen/