Hellen

Where Hellen comes from

Hellen hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1883
    First appearance
    #920 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1924
    Peak, #508
    195 babies named Hellen — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1939
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #735.
  4. 1968
    Hellen Kimaiyo born
    Kenyan runner; athletics competitor
  5. 1989
    Hellen Obiri born
    Kenyan middle-distance runner
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Hellen Obiri · Kenyan middle-distance runner, born 1989
  • Hellen Kimaiyo · Kenyan runner; athletics competitor, born 1968
  • Hellen Mubanga · Zambian association football player, born 1995
  • Hellen Lukoma · Ugandan actress and artist, born 1992
  • Hellen Murshali · Minister of Social Welfare of Central Equatoria, South Sudan

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.