Helen is a feminine given name derived from the Ancient Greek name , Helenē (dialectal variants: , Helena, , Elena, , 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).M. L. West, Indo-European Poetry and Myth (Oxford University Press, 2007),
The name is of uncertain origin. It might be connected to a Greek word meaning "ray of light" or "sunbeam", derived from ἥλιος or hḗlios, the Greek word for "sun". Some sources also connect the name to Hellen, the word meaning Greek.
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 Helena, mother of Constantine I. 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.
People Helen of Greece and Denmark (1896–1982), Queen Mother of Romania Saint Helen of Serbia (died 1314), Serbian queen Helen Abbey (1915–2001), American biostatistician Helen Aberson-Mayer (1907–1999), American writer Helen Acquroff (1831–1887), Scottish pianist, singer, poet and music teacher Helen Adam (1909–1993), American poet Helen Adams (born 1978), British television personality Helen Adams (soprano) (born 1956), Australian soprano Helen Adolf (1895–1998), Austrian-American linguist and literature scholar Helen Ainsworth (1901–1961), American actress Helen Aitchison (1881–1947), British tennis player Helen Alderson (footballer) (born 1989), English retired footballer Helen Popova Alderson (1924–1972), Soviet and British mathematician and translator Helen Alexander (1957–2017), British businesswoman Helen Alford (born 1964), English economist and dean of social sciences at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Helen Alfredsson (born 1965), Swedish professional golfer Helen Louise Allen (c. 1902–1968), American textile historian Helen Allingham (1848–1926), English illustrator and painter Helen Altman, American artist Helen Amankwah (born 1964), Ghanaian table tennis player Helen Amos (born 1948), Australian tennis player Helen Andelin (1920–2009), founder of the Fascinating Womanhood Movement Helen Andersen (1919–1995), Canadian artist Helen Anderson (born 1955), New Zealand scientist and public servant Helen Andrews, American political commentator Helen Cordelia Angell (1847–1884), English painter Helen Angwin, Australian tennis player Helen Anker, British actress, singer and dancer Helen ApSimon (born 1942), English climatologist and academic Helen Arbuthnot (born 1984), British rower Helen Archdale (1876–1949), Scottish feminist and journalist Helen Aristar-Dry, American linguist Helen Armstrong, multiple people Helen Arney, British presenter, stand-up comedian and musician Helen Arnold (1890–1976), American actress Helen Arnold (politician) (1927–2023), American politician Helen Arthur (1879–1939), American theatre manager Helen Asemota, biochemist and agricultural biotechnologist Helen Asher (1927–2001), German-born Australian novelist and short story writer Helen Ashton (1891–1958), British writer Helen Astin (1932–2015), Greek-American psychologist Helen Isobel Aston (1934–2020), Australian botanist Helen Atkinson (born 1960), British academic Helen Atkinson-Wood (born 1955), English actress Helen W. Atwater (1876–1947), American home economist and editor Helen Augur (1894–1969), American journalist and historical writer Helen Austin, multiple people Helen Avery (1938–2016), Australian businesswoman Helen Louise Babcock (1867–1955), American educator, elocutionist and dramatic reader Helen H. Bacon (1919–2007), American classical philosopher Helen Daniels Bader (1927–1989), American philanthropist Helen Badgley (1908–1977), American actress Helen Bailey (1964–2016), British author Helen Baker, multiple people Helen Ball, senior British police officer Helen Ballard (1908–1995), British horticulturist Helen Bamber (1925–2014), British psychotherapist and human rights activist Helen Elliott Bandini (1854–1911), American writer Helen Banks (1927–2015), American founder of Second Chance for Greyhounds Helen Bannerman (1862–1946), Scottish children's writer Helen Morton Barker (1834–1910), American social reformer Helen Blair Barlett (1901–1969), American geologist and mineralogist Helen Barnes (1895–1925), American actress Helen Moewaka Barnes, New Zealand academic Helen Barnett-Burkart (born 1958), British athlete Helen Barolini (1925–2023), American writer Helen Barr, English academic Helen Hugo Barrett (1921–2019), Anglican missionary nurse Helen Barry (1840–1904), English actress Helen Valeska Bary (c. 1888–1973), American suffragist Helen Bar-Yaacov, Uzbekistani-born American rabbi Helen Battle (1903–1994), Canadian marine biologist Helen Bauer (born 1991), English comedian Helen Baxendale (born 1970), English actress Helen Bayes (born 1944), Australian activist Helen Baylor (born 1954), American singer Helen Beaglehole (born 1946), New Zealand writer and historian Helen Purdy Beale (1893–1976), US virologist Helen D. Beals (1898–1991), Canadian artist and educator Helen Desha Beamer (1882–1952), American singer Helen Beardsley (1930–2000), American writer Helen Beauclerk (1892–1969), British writer and translator Helen Bee, American psychologist and academic Helen Beebe (1908–1989), American educationist Helen Beebee (born 1968), British philosopher Helen Behan, Irish actress Helen Belcher (born 1963), British transgender activist and Liberal Democrat politician Helen Beling (1914–2001), American sculptor Helen Bell, English singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Helen Belyea (1913–1986), Canadian geologist Helen Benbridge (1876–1964), American suffragist Helen Benedict (born 1952), American novelist and journalist Helen Bennett, multiple people Helen Benson, New Zealand professor of home science Helen Delich Bentley (1923–2016), American politician Helen Bentwich (1892–1972), British philanthropist and politician Helen Beresford, Baroness Decies (1893–1931), American-born British socialite and philanthropist Helen Berg (1932–2010), American statistician and politician Helen Corinne Bergen (1868–19??), American author, journalist, critic Helen A. Berger, American sociologist Helen Berman (born 1936), Dutch painter Helen M. Berman, American chemist Helen Bernhard (1921–1998), American tennis player Helen Ginger Berrigan (1948–2024), American judge Helen Berriman (born 1975), British naturist and media personality Helen Berry (born 1969), British historian Helen Bershad, American abstract expressionist painter Helen Bertram (1865–1953), American actress Helen Beverley (1916–2011), American actress Helen Bevington (1906–2001), American poet Helen Bianchin (born 1939), Australian writer Helen Bickham (born 1935), Mexican artist Helen Biggar (1909–1953), Scottish sculptor, filmmaker and theatre designer Helen Bina (1912–1983), American speed skater Helen Binyon (1904–1979), British artist and author Helen L. Bostwick (1826–1907), American author, poet Helen Bjørnøy (born 1954), Norwegian politician Helen Blaby, British journalist Helen Black, multiple people Helen Blackler (1902–1981), British psychologist and museum curator Helen Blackwell, American chemist and molecular biologist Helen Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (1807–1867), British songwriter, composer, poet and author Helen Blake (born 1951), Jamaican sprinter Helen Blakeman, British playwright and screenwriter Helen Blanchard (1840–1922), American inventor Helen Blane (1913–2000), British alpine skier Helen Blatch (1934–2015), British actress Helen Blau (born 1948), American biochemist Helen Blaxland (1907–1989), Australian charity fundraiser, heritage conservationist, skillful flower arranger and nonfiction writer Helen Bleazard (born 1990), Welsh footballer Helen Boaden (born 1956), British former broadcasting executive Helen Boatwright (1916–2010), American opera singer Helen Bond, British biblical scholar Helen Bonfils (1889–1972), American actress, theatrical producer, newspaper executive and philanthropist Helen Bonny (1921–2010), American music therapist Helen Boosalis (1919–2009), American politician Helen Borten, American author and illustrator Helen Bosanquet (1860–1925), British social theorist and reformer Helen Bøsterud (born 1940), Norwegian politician Helen Bostock (born 1977), New Zealand marine sedimentologist Helen L. Bostwick (1826–1907), American poet Helen McMurchie Bott, Canadian author Helen Bottel (1914–1999), American journalist Helen Boucher, American physician Helen Boughton-Leigh (1906–1999), American skier Helen Boulding (born 1978), British singer-songwriter Helen Bowater (born 1952), New Zealand composer Helen Bower, British violinist Helen Bower-Easton, British civil servant Helen Bowskill, biography of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland Helen Boyce (1918–1997), American actress Helen Boyd (born 1969), American memoirist Helen Boyle (swimmer) (1908–1970), British swimmer Helen Boyle (1869–1957), Irish-British physician and psychologist Helen Dore Boylston (1895–1984), American novelist Helen Brach (1911–1977), American multi-millionaire Helen Bradley (1900–1979), English artist Helen Branswell, Canadian infectious diseases and global health reporter Helen Bray (1889–1990), American 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 Briem (born 2005), German golfer Helen Bright, multiple people Helen Brinchmann (1918–2016), Norwegian actress Helen Brockman (1902–2008), American fashion designer Helen Broderick (1891–1959), American actress Helen Tanner Brodt (1838–1908), American painter Helen Broneau (1894–1972), American actress and screenwriter Helen Bronte-Stewart, neuroscientist Helen Brook (1907–1997), British advocate of birth control Helen Brotherton (1914–2009), English conservationist Helen Brotherton (vegetarian) (1812–1898), English vegetarianism activist and philanthropist Helen Brown, several people Helen Browning (born 1961), British farmer Helen Brownlee (born 1945), Australian Olympic Committee Helen Brownson (1917–2017), American information scientist Helen Bell Bruton (1898–1985), American visual artist Helen Buchholtz (1877–1953), Luxembourgish composer Helen Buckingham (born 1952), Australian politician Helen Watson Buckner (1918–1991), American philanthropist Helen Buday, Australian actress and singer Helen Foot Buell (1901–1995), American botanist and ecologist Helen Buhagiar, Maltese political activist and feminist Helen Bullard, American landscape architect Helen Bullock, multiple people Helen Burbank (1898–1981), American politician Helen Burgess (1916–1937), American actress Helen Burgess (scientist) (1951–1999), Canadian conservation scientist Helen Burke, Countess Clanricarde (died 1722), Irish countess Helen Burnet (born 1964), Tasmanian politician Helen Burns (1916–2018), British actress Helen Burt, British-Canadian pharmacist Helen May Butler (1867–1957), American bandleader and composer Helen Lehman Buttenwieser (1905–1989), American lawyer Helen Byrne, professor of applied mathematics Helen Caceres (born 1993), Australian association footballer Helen Caddick (1845–1927), English travel writer Helen Caines, physicist Helen Caird, Scottish curler Helen Calcutt (born 1988), British poet and writer Helen Calder, New Zealand painter Helen Caldicott (born 1938), Australian physician, author and anti-nuclear advocate