Name Generator

How popular is the name Helena?

Births per year, rank history and how many Helenas are alive today.

Helena (female) is an uncommon girls' name in England and Wales, ranked 329th in 2025 with 131 babies given the name. The name peaked in 1996, when 308 babies were given the name, the 145th most popular that year. Its fortunes dipped to rank 371 in 2024 before climbing back to the 329th place it holds today. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 5,200 babies have been named Helena in England and Wales since 1996. Common short forms of Helena include Helen and Lena.

The Helena you are most likely to meet is around 30 years old. Half of all Helenas born in England and Wales are between 12 and 32, and there are at least 7,300 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 2.3% chance that at least one of them will be called Helena.

How many babies are named Helena each year?

0100200300200020201996: 3081997: 2791998: 2781999: 2662000: 2122001: 2092002: 1832003: 1502004: 1492005: 1402006: 1862007: 1482008: 1542009: 1342010: 1412011: 1462012: 1412013: 1352014: 1642015: 1592016: 1782017: 1802018: 1702019: 1792020: 1402021: 1452022: 1322023: 1472024: 1172025: 131actual

Where does Helena rank among girls' names?

110100500200020201996: ranked 1451997: ranked 1621998: ranked 1611999: ranked 1692000: ranked 1962001: ranked 1972002: ranked 2282003: ranked 2742004: ranked 2782005: ranked 3002006: ranked 2522007: ranked 3112008: ranked 3042009: ranked 3302010: ranked 3332011: ranked 3282012: ranked 3442013: ranked 3392014: ranked 2912015: ranked 3002016: ranked 2802017: ranked 2722018: ranked 2792019: ranked 2692020: ranked 3272021: ranked 3282022: ranked 3272023: ranked 2972024: ranked 3712025: ranked 329

Where this data comes from

Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.

One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.

Chart: babies named Helena per year in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025, peaking at about 308 in 1996
Helena: births per year in England and Wales, 1996-2025. Free to share with a link back.

Common questions

When was the name Helena most popular?

Helena peaked in 1996, when 308 babies in England and Wales were given the name.

How many people are called Helena?

At least 7,300 people named Helena born in England and Wales are alive today.

How old is the typical Helena?

Most living Helenas are between 12 and 32; the most common age is about 30.

Is Helena becoming more or less popular?

Broadly steady in recent years.






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