Helen is a feminine given name derived from the Ancient Greek name Ἑλένη, Helenē (dialectal variants: Ἑλένα, Helena, Ἐλένα, Elena, Ϝελένα, Welena), which descends from Proto-Hellenic *Ηwelénā, from a pre-Hellenic or late Proto-Indo-European *Swelénā (a solar deity), ultimately derived from the Indo-European root *swel- (to shine, warm).[1]
 Eastern Orthodox icon of Saint Constantine the Great and Saint Helena, his mother. | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛlən/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Name day | 19 May (Certain Lutheran Churches) 21 May (Orthodox, Anglican & Lutheran Churches) 18 August (Roman Catholic Church) |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Ancient Greek |
| Meaning | 'shining', 'warming' (originally the name of a solar deity) |
| Region of origin | Ancient Greece |
| Other names | |
| Nickname(s) | Lena, Lenie, Elle, El, Ellie, Hela, Heli |
| Related names | Elaina, Ellyn, Elaine, Elayne, Elayna, Elen, Elene, Ellen, Elena, Eleni, Elin, Helena, Helene, Helaine, Ilona, Ilana, Yelena |
| Popularity | see popular names |
Helen is a feminine name of Greek origin that means "torch" or "light." It can also mean "shining" or "warming." Helen was originally the name of a solar deity. Helen is associated with the phrase "the face that launched a thousand ships."
Helen, worshipped as a goddess in Laconia and Rhodes, is a major character in Greek mythology. The name was widely used by early Christians due to Saint Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine I, who according to legend found a piece of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified when she traveled to Jerusalem.[2] Helen was very popular in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, when it was one of the top ten names for baby girls, but became less common following World War II.[3]
People
edit- Helen of Greece and Denmark (1896–1982), Queen Mother of Romania
- Saint Helen of Serbia (died 1314), Serbian queen
- Helen Acquroff (1831–1887), Scottish pianist, singer, poet and music teacher
- Helen Adams (born 1978), British television personality
- Helen Atkinson-Wood (born 1955), English actress
- Helen Vickroy Austin (1829–1921), American journalist, horticulturist, suffragette
- Helen Ball, senior British police officer
- Helen Morton Barker (1834-1910), American social reformer
- Helen Bar-Yaacov, Uzbekistani-born American rabbi
- Helen Baxendale (born 1970), English actress
- Helen Purdy Beale (1893–1976), US virologist
- Helen Corinne Bergen (1868–19??), American author, journalist, critic
- Helen Louisa Bostwick Bird (1826–1907), American author, poet
- Helen Bjørnøy (born 1954), Norwegian politician
- Helen Marie Black (1896–1988), American cultural and civic leader, publicist, and journalist
- Helen Blanchard (1840–1922), American inventor
- Helen Blatch (1934–2015), British actress
- Helen Breger (1918–2013), Austrian-born American visual artist, educator
- Helen Brew (1922–2013), New Zealand actor, birth campaigner, documentary filmmaker, educator and speech therapist for children
- Helen Broderick (1891–1959), American actress
- Helen Brook (1907–1997), British advocate of birth control
- Helen Brown (1917–1986), New Zealand painter
- Helen Burnet, Tasmanian politician
- Helen Calkins (1893–1970), American mathematician
- Helen Stuart Campbell (1839–1918), American author, editor, social reformer, home economist
- Helen Chadwick (1953–1996), English artist
- Helen Clark (born 1950), New Zealand politician
- Helen Clark (born 1954), British politician
- Helen Taggart Clark (1849–1918), American journalist, poet
- Helen Field Comstock (1840–1930), American poet, philanthropist
- Helen J. Cooper, British chemist
- Helen Millar Craggs (1888–1969), British suffragette and pharmacist, later 2nd Baroness Pethick-Lawrence
- Helen Cross (born 1967), English author
- Helen Cross, Australian politician
- Helen D'Amato, Maltese politician and educator
- Helen Joy Davidman (1915–1960), American poet and writer
- Helen Davies (disambiguation), multiple people
- Helen Denerley (born 1956), Scottish sculptor
- Helen DeWitt (born 1957), American novelist
- Helen Diemer, American architectural lighting designer
- Helen Dimsdale (1907–1977), British neurologist
- Helen Don-Duncan (born 1981), English swimmer
- Helen Merrill Egerton (1866–1951), Canadian writer
- Helen Faison (1924–2015), American educator
- Helen Flanagan (born 1990), English actress
- Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), American painter
- Helen Fraser (feminist), later Moyes (1881–1979), Scottish suffragette, feminist, educationalist, politician emigrated to Australia, toured America to develop WWI Women's Land Army.
- Helen Gamboa (born 1945), Filipina actress
- Helen Gandy (1897–1988), American civil servant
- Helen Garner (born 1942), Australian author
- Helen Golay (born 1931), American woman who murdered two homeless men for life insurance money
- Helen Grant (born 1961), British politician
- Helen Grant (born 1964), English author
- Helen Grant (born 1979), English field hockey player
- Helen Haines (born 1961), Australian politician
- Helen Hakena (born 1955), organiser and campaigner for peace and women's rights from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
- Helen Harrison-Bristol (1909–1995), Canadian pilot, civil aviation instructor, Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot during World War II.
- Helen Hayes (1900–1993), American actress
- Helen Anne Henderson (1946–2015), Canadian journalist and disability rights activist
- Helen Hindpere, Estonian writer
- Helen Humes (1913–1981), American singer
- Helen Hunt (born 1963), American actress
- Helen Marr Hurd (1839–1909), American educator, poet
- Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–1855), American poet, writer, activist
- Helen Jacobs (1908–1997), American tennis player
- Helen G. James, American equality activist
- Helen Kane (1904–1966), American singer
- Helen Keller (1880–1968), American author, political activist and lecturer
- Helen Kerly (1916-1992) British Air Transport Auxiliary pilot officer in Second World War.
- Helen Kevric (born 2008), German artistic gymnast
- Helen Klaos (born 1983), Estonian badminton player
- Helen Aldrich De Kroyft (1818–1915), American author
- Helen Landgarten (1921–2011), American psychotherapist, art therapy pioneer
- Helen Hull Law (1890–1966), American college professor of Latin and Greek
- Helen Dortch Longstreet (1863–1962), American newspaper editor, publisher
- Helen Ma (actress) (born 1950), Hong Kong actress
- Helen MacRae (active 1909–1914), British suffragette
- Helen Marshall (1898–1988), American historian of nursing
- Helene Mayer (1910–1953), German fencer
- Helen Mayo (1878–1967), Australian medical doctor and medical educator
- Helen McCall (1899–1956), Canadian photographer
- Helen McCrory (1968–2021), English actress
- Helen Maud Merrill (1865–1943), American litterateur, poet
- Helen Abbott Michael (1857-1904), American chemist and physician
- Helen Mirren (born 1945), English actress
- Helen Molesworth (born 1966), American contemporary art curator
- Helen Moore (disambiguation), multiple people
- Helen Morgan (1900–1941), American singer
- Helen Morse (born 1947), Australian actress
- Helen Moses (1905–1985), American swimmer
- Helen Nielsen (1918–2002), American writer
- Helen O'Brien (1925–2005), British nightclub owner and spy
- Helen O'Connell (1920–1993), American singer, actress, and hostess
- Helen Betty Osborne (1952–1971), Canadian murder victim
- Helen Pai, American television writer, director, and producer
- Helén Pettersson (born 1972), Swedish politician
- Helen Phelps (died 1980), American murder victim
- Helen Philemon (born 1980), track and field athlete from Papua New Guinea
- Helen Plaschinski (born 1963), Mexican swimmer
- Helen Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), English author, illustrator and natural scientist
- Helen Reddy (1941–2020), Australian-American singer-songwriter and actress
- Helen Hinsdale Rich (1827–1915), American writer
- Helen Richardson-Walsh (born 1981), an English field hockey player
- Helen Rickerby, New Zealand poet, writer, editor and publisher
- Helen Roche, British historian of modern European cultural history
- Helen Rockel (born 1945), New Zealand painter
- Helen Roden (born 1986), Former college basketballer and Australian rules footballer
- Helen Rollason (1956–1999), British sports journalist and television presenter
- Helen McGaffey Searles (1856–1936), American professor, classicist, and women's suffragist
- Helen Shapiro (born 1946), English singer
- Helen Sjöholm (born 1970), Swedish singer
- Helen Slater (born 1963), American actress
- Helen Slayton-Hughes (1930–2022), American actress
- Helen Southworth (born 1956), British politician
- Helen Ekin Starrett (1840–1920), American educator, author, suffragette
- Helen Stephens (1918–1994), American athlete
- Helen Stewart (1900–1983), New Zealand painter
- Helen Svedin (born 1976), Swedish model
- Helen Sworn, English Baptist missionary
- Helen Tam (born 1963), host of children's programmes in Hong Kong
- Helen Tamiris (1905–1966), American choreographer
- Helen Rand Thayer (1863–1935), American social reformer
- Helen Stern Richards (1917–1983), American theatre manager
- Helen Steven (1942–2016), Scottish pacifist
- Helen Stevenson (artist), Scottish artist
- Helen Roberts (disambiguation), multiple people
- Helen Thomas (disambiguation), multiple people
- Helena Thopia (fl. 1388–1403), Albanian princess
- Helen Tobias-Duesberg (1919–2010), Estonian-American composer
- Helen Va'aga (born 1977), New Zealand rugby player and coach
- Helen Vernet (1875–1956), first woman in Great Britain to be granted a license as a bookmaker on a racecourse
- Helen Volk (born 1954), Zimbabwean field hockey player
- Helen Weiss, British epidemiologist
- Helen Augusta Whittier (1846–1925), American editor, lecturer, teacher, clubwoman, businesswoman
- Helen Williams (disambiguation), multiple people
- Helen M. Winslow (1851–1938), American author, journalist
- Helen Wong Smith, American archivist and librarian
- Helen Zille (born 1951), South African politician
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ M. L. West, Indo-European Poetry and Myth (Oxford University Press, 2007), 230 at Google Books
- ^ "Helen". Behind the Name.
- ^ "Popularity of Name". Social Security Administration. Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
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