Entry № 4178 · Greek origin

Helen Helen — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ HEH-len /

Gender

Girl

Origin

Greek

Meaning

"Bright torch (Helen of Troy; Helen Keller)"

Syllables

First recorded

Ancient (Greek)

The meaning

A name that means "bright torch (helen of troy; helen keller)".

Helen is from the Greek Helénē — possibly from helénē (torch, bright).

Bright torch (Helen of Troy; Helen Keller) — a Greek name.

In its original form

The name in its native script.

Ἑλένη

Transliteration: Helénē
Pronunciation: / ˈhɛl.ən /
Root: —
Grammatical form: —

Popularity

Where Helen stands.

Helen does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Namesakes

Helens before her.

Real people

Helen Keller

American disability rights activist.

1880 – 1968

Helen Mirren

British Oscar-winning actress.

born 1945

Helen Clark

New Zealand PM.

born 1950

In fiction

Helen of Troy

Homer's Iliad.

Names connected to Helen.

Numerology

The number behind Helen.

The Visionary

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Helen reduce to 8, The Visionary. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.