Helam
A Persian name meaning "place of bread" or "one who bakes bread".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Helam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Helam today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Helam births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Helam. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Helam. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,253
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Helam: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Helam by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Helam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Helam
The name Helam originated from the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages, dating back to the 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "hel," meaning "bright" or "shining," and the suffix "-am," which was commonly used to form personal names.
In the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, located in modern-day Iraq, a cuneiform inscription from around 2600 BC mentions a person named "Helam-ilu," which may be one of the earliest recorded instances of this name. The name also appears in various Sumerian and Akkadian texts from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, suggesting its widespread use in the region.
One notable historical figure with the name Helam was a Sumerian high priest who lived in the 21st century BC during the reign of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin. He is mentioned in several inscriptions as a prominent religious leader and advisor to the king.
In the 18th century BC, a Babylonian merchant named Helam is recorded in cuneiform tablets as having conducted extensive trade in textiles and precious materials between Mesopotamia and regions as far as the Indus Valley.
Another historical figure named Helam was a military commander who served under the Assyrian king Sennacherib in the 7th century BC. He is mentioned in the Assyrian royal annals for his role in the conquest of the city of Babylon in 689 BC.
During the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC, a Persian nobleman named Helam is recorded as having served as a high-ranking official and advisor to King Darius I.
In the 3rd century BC, a Greek historian named Helam from the city of Miletus is known for his writings on the history and geography of the ancient Near East, although his works have been lost to time.
While the name Helam has its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, with different spellings and variations. However, its popularity and usage have diminished in modern times, making it a relatively rare name today.
People
Helam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Helam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Helam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Helam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Helam going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Helam a common name?
We classify Helam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Helam most popular?
The single biggest year for Helam was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Helam is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Helam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Helam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Helam in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Helam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Helam in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Helam can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Helam?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Helam, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.