Popularity of the name Helen, 1880–2025
Helen was at its most popular in 1917, when 34,251 girls were given the name: about 1 in 32 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #2. In 2025, 668 girls were named Helen, ranking #461. In all, Social Security counts 1,024,202 girls named Helen since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,105 boys named Helen.
- Peak year
- 1917
- Rank in 1917
- #2
- Babies in 1917
- 34,251
- Rank in 2025
- #461
- Total since 1880
- 1,024,202
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #419 in 2015 to #461 in 2025, with 767 girls named Helen in 2015 and 668 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Helen ranked highest in the 1900s, at #2, with 69,428 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #24 in the 1880s and #433 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 636 in 1880 (#35), 6,342 in 1900 (#2), 35,097 in 1920 (#3), 10,203 in 1940 (#18), 4,071 in 1960 (#117), 914 in 1980 (#272), 891 in 2000 (#345) and 721 in 2020 (#426).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 36,148, in 1918. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1918 than for 1917, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #2, first reached in 1900.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Helen, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 636 | #35 |
| 1881 | 612 | #43 |
| 1882 | 838 | #31 |
| 1883 | 862 | #35 |
| 1884 | 986 | #33 |
| 1885 | 1,134 | #28 |
| 1886 | 1,267 | #25 |
| 1887 | 1,405 | #21 |
| 1888 | 1,847 | #16 |
| 1889 | 1,909 | #17 |
| 1890 | 2,312 | #12 |
| 1891 | 2,417 | #9 |
| 1892 | 2,936 | #9 |
| 1893 | 3,249 | #6 |
| 1894 | 3,676 | #4 |
| 1895 | 4,023 | #3 |
| 1896 | 4,392 | #3 |
| 1897 | 4,519 | #3 |
| 1898 | 5,230 | #3 |
| 1899 | 5,048 | #3 |
| 1900 | 6,342 | #2 |
| 1901 | 5,247 | #2 |
| 1902 | 5,967 | #2 |
| 1903 | 6,129 | #2 |
| 1904 | 6,488 | #2 |
| 1905 | 6,811 | #2 |
| 1906 | 7,176 | #2 |
| 1907 | 7,579 | #2 |
| 1908 | 8,439 | #2 |
| 1909 | 9,250 | #2 |
| 1910 | 10,479 | #2 |
| 1911 | 11,801 | #2 |
| 1912 | 16,133 | #2 |
| 1913 | 18,888 | #2 |
| 1914 | 23,221 | #2 |
| 1915 | 30,866 | #2 |
| 1916 | 32,661 | #2 |
| 1917 | 34,251 | #2 |
| 1918 | 36,148 | #2 |
| 1919 | 33,706 | #2 |
| 1920 | 35,097 | #3 |
| 1921 | 34,822 | #3 |
| 1922 | 32,510 | #3 |
| 1923 | 31,486 | #3 |
| 1924 | 31,194 | #3 |
| 1925 | 29,173 | #4 |
| 1926 | 26,886 | #4 |
| 1927 | 25,316 | #4 |
| 1928 | 22,937 | #4 |
| 1929 | 20,983 | #4 |
| 1930 | 19,913 | #4 |
| 1931 | 17,664 | #6 |
| 1932 | 16,376 | #8 |
| 1933 | 14,644 | #8 |
| 1934 | 14,100 | #9 |
| 1935 | 12,785 | #10 |
| 1936 | 12,234 | #11 |
| 1937 | 11,453 | #12 |
| 1938 | 10,837 | #13 |
| 1939 | 10,420 | #16 |
| 1940 | 10,203 | #18 |
| 1941 | 9,887 | #24 |
| 1942 | 10,016 | #26 |
| 1943 | 9,800 | #28 |
| 1944 | 8,696 | #31 |
| 1945 | 8,301 | #31 |
| 1946 | 8,852 | #36 |
| 1947 | 8,979 | #38 |
| 1948 | 8,301 | #40 |
| 1949 | 7,707 | #46 |
| 1950 | 7,061 | #50 |
| 1951 | 6,949 | #54 |
| 1952 | 6,464 | #63 |
| 1953 | 6,123 | #65 |
| 1954 | 5,947 | #72 |
| 1955 | 5,592 | #78 |
| 1956 | 5,278 | #90 |
| 1957 | 5,019 | #95 |
| 1958 | 4,772 | #100 |
| 1959 | 4,375 | #108 |
| 1960 | 4,071 | #117 |
| 1961 | 3,858 | #119 |
| 1962 | 3,586 | #128 |
| 1963 | 3,338 | #124 |
| 1964 | 3,100 | #132 |
| 1965 | 2,800 | #137 |
| 1966 | 2,447 | #144 |
| 1967 | 2,157 | #158 |
| 1968 | 1,884 | #173 |
| 1969 | 1,858 | #175 |
| 1970 | 1,718 | #191 |
| 1971 | 1,440 | #209 |
| 1972 | 1,241 | #225 |
| 1973 | 1,137 | #221 |
| 1974 | 1,140 | #225 |
| 1975 | 1,059 | #229 |
| 1976 | 943 | #250 |
| 1977 | 994 | #249 |
| 1978 | 925 | #255 |
| 1979 | 879 | #278 |
| 1980 | 914 | #272 |
| 1981 | 899 | #275 |
| 1982 | 876 | #279 |
| 1983 | 844 | #278 |
| 1984 | 858 | #281 |
| 1985 | 808 | #301 |
| 1986 | 766 | #311 |
| 1987 | 816 | #297 |
| 1988 | 774 | #321 |
| 1989 | 858 | #305 |
| 1990 | 863 | #316 |
| 1991 | 774 | #340 |
| 1992 | 828 | #326 |
| 1993 | 867 | #307 |
| 1994 | 849 | #321 |
| 1995 | 837 | #325 |
| 1996 | 900 | #312 |
| 1997 | 812 | #345 |
| 1998 | 832 | #348 |
| 1999 | 841 | #356 |
| 2000 | 891 | #345 |
| 2001 | 884 | #344 |
| 2002 | 875 | #341 |
| 2003 | 783 | #392 |
| 2004 | 861 | #364 |
| 2005 | 961 | #333 |
| 2006 | 949 | #348 |
| 2007 | 932 | #349 |
| 2008 | 885 | #368 |
| 2009 | 826 | #388 |
| 2010 | 705 | #436 |
| 2011 | 731 | #429 |
| 2012 | 772 | #403 |
| 2013 | 740 | #411 |
| 2014 | 802 | #403 |
| 2015 | 767 | #419 |
| 2016 | 816 | #409 |
| 2017 | 764 | #418 |
| 2018 | 745 | #415 |
| 2019 | 743 | #428 |
| 2020 | 721 | #426 |
| 2021 | 704 | #443 |
| 2022 | 749 | #422 |
| 2023 | 777 | #395 |
| 2024 | 728 | #425 |
| 2025 | 668 | #461 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.