Girls' name · peaked in 1917
Helen name popularity since 1925
494,025 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Helen. Half of them were born in 1938 or earlier, so the typical Helen is about 88 years old in 2026. Helen peaked in 1917 as the #2 name for girls, and it ranked #462 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 494,025
- Named Helen, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1917
- #2 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #462
- for girls in 2025 (668 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 492,213 girls · 1,812 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 2.18× its national share
Peak year is the year Helen made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Helen births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Helen peaked earlier, in 1917.
- Steepest fall: Between 1966 and 1971, Helen's share of baby girls fell by 40%, from 1 in 692 to 1 in 1,160.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Helen's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Helen.
Decade by decade
Babies named Helen in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 125,295 | 411 | – |
| 1930s | 140,426 | 665 | #10 |
| 1940s | 90,742 | 334 | #31 |
| 1950s | 57,580 | 169 | #78 |
| 1960s | 29,099 | 105 | #137 |
| 1970s | 11,476 | 65 | #229 |
| 1980s | 8,413 | 36 | #301 |
| 1990s | 8,403 | 22 | #325 |
| 2000s | 8,847 | 5 | #333 |
| 2010s | 7,585 | 0 | #419 |
| 2020–25 | 4,347 | 0 | #462 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
49.0% of babies named Helen from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Helen is most popular
The index compares Helen's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Helen.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 2.18× | 9,510 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.74× | 43,916 |
| Arkansas | 1.62× | 8,276 |
| Mississippi | 1.50× | 9,035 |
| Montana | 1.48× | 2,155 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Helen and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Helen (this page) | 492,213 | 1917 |
| Hellen | 6,104 | 1924 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Helen's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Helen.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Helen (1917).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data