Helene
Helene was given to 42 girls in 2025, #3,601 among girls’ names; 33,334 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 13,000 Americans named Helene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (39% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 59 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Helene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Helene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Helene is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From French Hélène and from German Helene. Doublet of Helen, Helena, and Elaine.
/hɛlˈiːn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Helene?
#3,601 among girls’ names, 2025
Helene rose from #3,726 in 2015 to #3,601 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 23.0 to 26.1 per million.
728 babies in 1918, the peak
Helene peaked in 1918, when 728 girls were given it, #235 among girls’ names. The 42 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | #3,601 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 40 | #3,779 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 35 | #4,138 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 30 | #4,626 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4,887 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 36 | #3,954 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 32 | #4,381 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 23 | #5,515 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 32 | #4,426 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 34 | #4,290 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 41 | #3,726 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 33 | #4,385 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 41 | #3,733 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 28 | #5,015 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 39 | #3,866 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 37 | #4,055 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 31 | #4,726 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 31 | #4,798 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 48 | #3,443 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 47 | #3,429 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 43 | #3,470 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 54 | #2,932 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 102 | #1,825 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 40 | #3,415 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 48 | #2,973 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 28 | #4,326 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 39 | #3,266 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 40 | #3,134 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 38 | #3,122 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 46 | #2,683 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 44 | #2,744 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 46 | #2,673 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,456 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 48 | #2,581 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 60 | #2,193 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 52 | #2,377 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 58 | #2,122 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 48 | #2,301 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 54 | #2,049 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 45 | #2,277 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 45 | #2,262 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 56 | #1,890 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 56 | #1,867 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 49 | #2,085 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 79 | #1,520 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 75 | #1,557 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 80 | #1,485 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 67 | #1,602 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 79 | #1,421 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 90 | #1,244 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 79 | #1,355 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 100 | #1,152 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 112 | #1,043 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 108 | #1,066 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 123 | #1,012 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 135 | #944 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 155 | #830 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 157 | #805 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 185 | #720 | 0.11 |
| 1966 | 242 | #611 | 0.14 |
| 1965 | 286 | #562 | 0.16 |
| 1964 | 342 | #532 | 0.18 |
| 1963 | 368 | #509 | 0.19 |
| 1962 | 345 | #525 | 0.18 |
| 1961 | 384 | #496 | 0.19 |
| 1960 | 432 | #467 | 0.21 |
| 1959 | 454 | #455 | 0.22 |
| 1958 | 479 | #430 | 0.24 |
| 1957 | 453 | #442 | 0.22 |
| 1956 | 451 | #432 | 0.22 |
| 1955 | 483 | #397 | 0.25 |
| 1954 | 461 | #402 | 0.24 |
| 1953 | 454 | #398 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 502 | #369 | 0.27 |
| 1951 | 494 | #359 | 0.27 |
| 1950 | 508 | #348 | 0.30 |
| 1949 | 512 | #342 | 0.30 |
| 1948 | 522 | #340 | 0.31 |
| 1947 | 581 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1946 | 530 | #324 | 0.34 |
| 1945 | 458 | #315 | 0.35 |
| 1944 | 456 | #316 | 0.34 |
| 1943 | 462 | #329 | 0.33 |
| 1942 | 533 | #296 | 0.39 |
| 1941 | 450 | #305 | 0.37 |
| 1940 | 429 | #302 | 0.38 |
| 1939 | 416 | #301 | 0.38 |
| 1938 | 444 | #300 | 0.40 |
| 1937 | 453 | #291 | 0.43 |
| 1936 | 445 | #288 | 0.43 |
| 1935 | 400 | #309 | 0.38 |
| 1934 | 397 | #313 | 0.38 |
| 1933 | 405 | #307 | 0.40 |
| 1932 | 455 | #295 | 0.43 |
| 1931 | 439 | #305 | 0.41 |
| 1930 | 550 | #272 | 0.49 |
| 1929 | 483 | #299 | 0.43 |
| 1928 | 506 | #295 | 0.44 |
| 1927 | 500 | #298 | 0.42 |
| 1926 | 511 | #297 | 0.43 |
| 1925 | 488 | #300 | 0.40 |
| 1924 | 544 | #282 | 0.44 |
| 1923 | 570 | #270 | 0.47 |
| 1922 | 613 | #262 | 0.51 |
| 1921 | 624 | #264 | 0.51 |
| 1920 | 680 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1919 | 664 | #249 | 0.59 |
| 1918 | 728 | #235 | 0.63 |
| 1917 | 721 | #230 | 0.67 |
| 1916 | 718 | #227 | 0.69 |
| 1915 | 682 | #231 | 0.69 |
| 1914 | 538 | #231 | 0.71 |
| 1913 | 425 | #235 | 0.68 |
| 1912 | 378 | #232 | 0.68 |
| 1911 | 283 | #232 | 0.68 |
| 1910 | 226 | #255 | 0.57 |
| 1909 | 176 | #272 | 0.51 |
| 1908 | 138 | #302 | 0.41 |
| 1907 | 160 | #275 | 0.50 |
| 1906 | 149 | #274 | 0.50 |
| 1905 | 146 | #273 | 0.50 |
| 1904 | 121 | #293 | 0.44 |
| 1903 | 123 | #283 | 0.47 |
| 1902 | 94 | #322 | 0.36 |
| 1901 | 122 | #267 | 0.51 |
| 1900 | 138 | #277 | 0.46 |
| 1899 | 89 | #317 | 0.38 |
| 1898 | 98 | #319 | 0.38 |
| 1897 | 108 | #273 | 0.46 |
| 1896 | 100 | #291 | 0.42 |
| 1895 | 87 | #312 | 0.37 |
| 1894 | 78 | #314 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 68 | #324 | 0.32 |
| 1892 | 54 | #361 | 0.25 |
| 1891 | 68 | #303 | 0.37 |
| 1890 | 57 | #339 | 0.30 |
| 1889 | 44 | #364 | 0.25 |
| 1888 | 39 | #388 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 31 | #394 | 0.21 |
| 1886 | 33 | #372 | 0.23 |
| 1885 | 28 | #386 | 0.21 |
| 1884 | 26 | #392 | 0.20 |
| 1883 | 24 | #378 | 0.21 |
| 1882 | 20 | #412 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 20 | #377 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 17 | #412 | 0.19 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Helene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Helene has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Helene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Helene, and how old are they?
13,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 39% of the 33,334 Americans ever recorded as Helene. The median Helene alive today is 69 years old; half are between 59 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 19,118 people named Helene (19,098 women and girls, 20 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,283 born in the U.S. The Census count is 25% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,410 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 6,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 813 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 685 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 443 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Helene born?
The states with the most babies named Helene are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 54% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8,150 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,952 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 1,918 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 1,873 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| California | 1,714 | #3,278 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 1,371 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Michigan | 1,162 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 1,011 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Connecticut | 607 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Wisconsin | 482 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Helene is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Helene is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 3.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Helene with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 77,177 babies since 1880, Helene is the second most given (43% of them). In 2025 it was given to 42 of their 913 babies (4.6%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Helene
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Helene and names like it
- Compare Helene and HelenaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sHelene peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Helene since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Helene: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Helene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Helene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with HMost given first.