girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Helena

Meaning A Latinate form of Helen, borrowed from Latin Helena Gender Girl Rank 2025 #363 Trend ↑ Rising 21%

A Latinate form of Helen, borrowed from Latin Helena.

Rank 2025
#363
among girls · ↑51 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
841
named Helena · +12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,911
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
841 babies
All-time total
40,412
#681 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Helena popularity over time

40,412 babies have been named Helena since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1884Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s 775 78 – #194
1890s 1,147 115 +48% #234
1900s 1,197 120 +4% #270
1910s 3,339 334 +179% #285
1920s 3,307 331 -1% #334
1930s 2,035 204 -38% #412
1940s 2,066 207 +2% #478
1950s 2,273 227 +10% #560
1960s 2,342 234 +3% #563
1970s 2,018 202 -14% #694
1980s 2,014 201 0% #712
1990s 2,859 286 +42% #591
2000s 5,013 501 +75% #511
2010s 5,882 588 +17% #458
2020s (to 2025) 4,145 691 +17% #363

Where Helena is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 869 0.54 #351
2027 893 0.56 #342
2028 914 0.57 #336
2029 932 0.58 #328
2030 948 0.59 #323

Where Helena is most popular

Girls named Helena per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.438 per 1,000. Strongest in Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Connecticut.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Helena born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Massachusetts 241 1.99 +355%
Hawaii 11 0.960 +119%
Connecticut 53 0.911 +108%
Florida 334 0.781 +78%
New Jersey 131 0.726 +66%
Oregon 47 0.722 +65%
District of Columbia 8 0.675 +54%
Arizona 90 0.641 +47%
Virginia 108 0.634 +45%
Texas 440 0.547 +25%
Illinois 125 0.546 +25%
Michigan 97 0.533 +22%
Pennsylvania 125 0.529 +21%
Maryland 56 0.528 +21%
Minnesota 55 0.510 +16%
California 426 0.507 +16%
Nebraska 18 0.501 +14%
Kansas 28 0.485 +11%
Washington 68 0.471 +8%
Indiana 65 0.463 +6%
North Carolina 104 0.457 ≈ national
South Carolina 40 0.445 ≈ national
Wisconsin 45 0.437 ≈ national
Georgia 99 0.436 ≈ national
Colorado 48 0.430 ≈ national
New York 164 0.414 -5%
Maine 6 0.388 -11%
Ohio 92 0.388 -11%
Missouri 46 0.382 -13%
Tennessee 55 0.347 -21%
Utah 25 0.300 -31%
Kentucky 25 0.292 -33%
Nevada 13 0.280 -36%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 -38%
Oklahoma 18 0.245 -44%
West Virginia 5 0.191 -56%
Louisiana 15 0.171 -61%
Alabama 16 0.170 -61%
Iowa 5 0.086 -80%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Delaware – – –
Idaho – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Helena

Helena is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #363 in 2025 with 841 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 40,412 American babies have been named Helena. Its peak came in 2025, when 841 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Helena stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Helena?

The median living Helena is about 23 years old; half are between 10 and 50. An estimated 28 thousand people named Helena are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Helena year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 841 #363
2024 754 #414
2023 678 #456
2022 675 #471
2021 604 #513
2020 593 #512
2019 658 #475
2018 689 #458
2017 610 #515
2016 602 #517
2015 583 #535
2014 627 #498
2013 543 #548
2012 529 #558
2011 491 #588
2010 550 #534
2009 533 #573
2008 503 #609
2007 584 #536
2006 595 #511
2005 530 #542
2004 511 #561
2003 541 #521
2002 432 #599
2001 417 #602
2000 367 #662
1995 342 #637
1990 200 #946
1985 187 #859
1980 218 #761
1975 205 #721
1970 201 #737
1965 260 #594
1960 215 #695
1955 208 #643
1950 219 #563
1945 178 #551
1940 200 #478
1935 190 #462
1930 242 #430
1925 351 #363
1920 383 #334
1915 405 #289
1910 175 #293
1905 106 #326
1900 112 #319
1895 107 #273
1890 100 #248
1885 86 #210
1880 60 #198

Famous people named Helena

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter British actress (born 1966) Contemporary
  2. 2 Helena Christensen Helena Christensen Danish fashion model (born 1968) Contemporary
  3. 3 Helena Blavatsky Helena Blavatsky Russian-American mystic and writer (1831–1891) 19th century
  4. 4 Helena Mattsson Helena Mattsson Swedish actress (born 1984) Contemporary
  5. 5 Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist 1872–1965 · 19th century
  6. 6 Helena Vondráčková Helena Vondráčková Czech singer (born 1947) Contemporary
  7. 7 Helena Rojo Helena Rojo Mexican actress and model (1944–2024) Contemporary
  8. 8 Helena Dragaš Helena Dragaš Byzantine empress consort 1372–1450 · Medieval
  9. 9 Helena Modjeska Helena Modjeska Polish-American actress (1840–1909) 19th century
  10. 10 Helena Suková Helena Suková Czech tennis player (born 1965) Contemporary
  11. 11 Helena Helena Roman empress in 360 301–360 · Antiquity
  12. 12 Helena Roerich Helena Roerich Russian philosopher (1879–1955) 19th century
  13. 13 Helena Noguerra Helena Noguerra Belgian actress, singer and writer (born 1969) Contemporary
  14. 14 Helena of Moscow Helena of Moscow Queen of Poland (1501–1506) and Grand Duchess of Lithuania (1495–1506) 1476–1513 · Medieval
  15. 15 Helena Bergström Helena Bergström Swedish actress (born 1964) Contemporary
  16. 16 Helena Helena Roman empress and saint (c. 246–c. 330) 250–330 · Antiquity
  17. 17 Helena Kantakouzene Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire 1333–1396 · Medieval
  18. 18 Helena Lekapene Helena Lekapene Byzantine empress from 919 to 959 910–961 · Medieval
  19. 19 Helena of Serbia, Queen of Hungary Helena of Serbia, Queen of Hungary Queen Regent of Hungary from 1141 to 1146 1109–1146 · Medieval
  20. 20 Helena Angelina Doukaina Queen consort of Sicily 1242–1271 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Helena, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Helena?

The median living Helena is about 23 years old. Half of all living Helenas are between 10 and 50 years old.

How many people named Helena are alive today?

An estimated 28 thousand people named Helena are alive in the United States, based on 40,412 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Helena mean?

A Latinate form of Helen, borrowed from Latin Helena.

How popular is the name Helena in 2025?

Helena ranked #363 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 841 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Helena?

40,412 babies have been named Helena in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Helena most popular?

Helena peaked in 2025, when 841 newborns received the name.

Is Helena a boy or girl name?

Helena is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Helena rising or falling?

Helena is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Helena become more popular?

Helena is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 948 girls named Helena in 2030, which would rank around #323. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Helena?

Well-known people named Helena include Helena Bonham Carter (actor), Helena Christensen (model), Helena Blavatsky (occultist).

Names like Helena

Names that sound and feel close to Helena: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Helena with similar names → More names starting with H →