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 [ 2 syll. he-len, hel-en ] The girl name Helen is pronounced as HHEHLahN KEY. Helen is an English name of Old Greek origin. The name is of the meaning bright one, shining one. Derived from the element 'helios' meaning sun. The name was borne in Greek mythology and in Homer's Iliad by the beautiful Helen of Troy, who was the daughter of Zeus; her capture by Paris the prince of Troy launched the decade-long Trojan war. The name was also borne in the 3rd century by Emperor Constantine's mother, known from the Latin form Helena. In literature, the name was borne by characters in the William Shakespeare plays Troilus and Cressida (1602) and Cymbeline (1609). The name was first used by English speakers in the 16th century. Helen is a widely used name; it has 116 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Helen used in English include Alena (also used in Russian and Czech), Eileen (also used in Irish), Elaina (also used in Spanish), Elaine (also used in French), Elana (also used in Hebrew), Eleanor, Eleanora (also used in Italian), Eleanore, Elenor (also used in Spanish), Elenora, Elenore, Eleonor (also used in Spanish), Elia (also used in French, Italian, and Hawaiian), Elin (also used in Scandinavian and Welsh), Elle, Ellen (also used in Dutch), Elli (also used in German), Ellie (also used in Scottish), Ellin (also used in Welsh), Elly (also used in Dutch), Ellyn, Ellynn, Elnora, Erena (also used in Maori), Helaine, Helana, Ileana (also used in Romanian and Hungarian), Ilena (also used in Spanish), Iliana (also used in German and Spanish), Ilonka (also used in German and Hungarian), Lana (also used in Greek and Russian), Lena (also used in German, Russian, Scandinavian, Polish, and Spanish), Lene (also used in German, Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian, and Scottish), Lenora (also used in Spanish), Lenore, Leona (also used in German), Leonora (also used in German, Italian, and Spanish), Leonore (also used in German), Leora (also used in Hebrew), Liana (also used in French, German, Italian, and Portuguese), Lili (also used in German, Russian, and Dutch), Liora (also used in Hebrew), Nelli (also used in German and Hungarian), Nelly, Nora (also used in German, Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, Scottish, and Czech), and Norah (also used in Irish). Other English forms include the pet forms Ella (also used in Scandinavian), Nell, and Nellie, and the variant spellings Helenh and Hellen. Foreign variants of Helen include Ale (Lithuanian), Alenka (Russian and Slavic), Aliute (Lithuanian), Alyna (Russian), Eilidh (Scottish), Elane, Elayne, Elen (Welsh), Elena (Spanish, Czech, Italian, Romanian, Russian, and Slavic), Eleni (Greek), Elenie (Greek), Elenita (Spanish), Elenitsa (Greek), Elenka (Czech), Elenoa (Hawaiian), Elenola (Hawaiian), Elenuta (Romanian), Eleonora (Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish), Elianora (Hawaiian), Elina (Scandinavian), Elna (Dutch and Scandinavian), Élaine (French), Halina (Russian), Halya (Russian and Ukrainian), Halyna (Russian and Ukrainian), Hela (Czech), Hele (Estonian), Heleen (Dutch), Helena (Czech, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hawaiian, Polish, Portuguese, and Scandinavian), Helene (German and Scandinavian), Helenka (Czech), Helle (Scandinavian), Helli (Finnish), Heluska (Czech), Hélène (French), Ila (Hungarian), Ileanna (Spanish), Ilka (Hungarian), Ilke (Hungarian), Ilona (Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, and Dutch), Iluska (Hungarian), Jela (Slavic), Jelena (Czech and Russian), Jelica (Slavic), Jelka (Hungarian), Laina (Finnish), Leena (Estonian and Indian), Lenci (Hungarian), Leni (German and Spanish), Lenia (Russian), Lenio (Greek), Lenja (Russian), Lenka (Czech, Polish, and Russian), Lenni (Estonian), Leny (German), Lenya (Russian), Leonor (Portuguese and Spanish), Liolya (Russian), Nelya (Russian), Nitsa (Greek and German), Olena (Russian and Ukrainian), Olenka (Russian and Polish), and Yelena (Russian). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Leen (Dutch) and Leentje (Dutch). See also the related form, Eliana (English, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish). Helen is a classic favorite. Today it is still fairly popular as a baby name for girls, though it was in more widespread use before. At the peak of its usage in 1917, 3.048% of baby girls were given the name Helen. Its ranking then was #2. The baby name has since suffered a marked fall in popularity, and in recent years it is of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.043% and its ranking #371. Out of the group of girl names directly linked to Helen, Ella (English, Scandinavian, and Italian) was the most commonly used. In 2008, its use outnumbered Helen's by 11 times. Helen has predominantly been a girl name, though in the past century it has also been used for boys. In 1941, 203 times as many girls than boys were given the name Helen. Baby names that sound like Helen include Hellen (English), Helaine (English), Heleen (Dutch), Helene (German and Scandinavian), Helenh (English), Helma (German, English, and Hungarian), Helmine (English and German), Hélène (French), Hilma (Scandinavian), Hoolana (Hawaiian), Halima (Arabic, Swahili, and Urdu), Halimah (Arabic), Halina (Russian), Halona, Halyna (Russian and Ukrainian), Helana (English), Helena (Czech, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hawaiian, Polish, Portuguese, and Scandinavian), Hilani (Hawaiian), Hollyanne (English), and Hollyn (English). Details of famous persons named Helen: KEY: Pronunciation for Helen: HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
