Helana
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "bright" or "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 536 living Americans carry the first name Helana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Helana today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Helana births was 2006 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Helana. 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.
People living today
536
~ 1 in 639,467 Americans
Peak year
2006
25 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,613
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Helana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Helana from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 176 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Helana 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 Helana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Helana
The name Helana has its origins in ancient Greek culture, deriving from the Greek word "helene," which means "bright one" or "shining light." It emerged in the Hellenic period, spanning from the 8th to the 4th century BCE. The name's roots can be traced back to the mythological figure of Helen of Troy, whose abduction by Paris was believed to have sparked the Trojan War.
In Greek mythology, Helen was renowned for her extraordinary beauty, which was said to have been bestowed upon her by the goddess Aphrodite. The Iliad, one of the oldest extant works of Western literature, composed by Homer in the 8th century BCE, chronicles the events surrounding the Trojan War and features Helen as a central character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Helana can be found in ancient Greek texts from the 5th century BCE. Notably, Helana was the name of a Spartan princess mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus in his work, "The Histories."
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Helana. In the early Christian era, Saint Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, lived from around 250 to 330 CE. She is revered as a significant figure in the history of Christianity for her role in the construction of churches and her pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
During the Renaissance period, Helana Cornaro, born in 1476, was a Venetian noblewoman and the last Queen of Cyprus. Her reign marked the end of the Lusignan dynasty and the incorporation of Cyprus into the Republic of Venice.
In the realm of literature, Helana Modjeska, born in 1840 and died in 1909, was a renowned Polish actress and writer. She achieved international acclaim for her performances in various Shakespearean plays and is considered a pioneer of the modern theatrical movement.
More recently, Helana Rubinstein, born in 1872 and died in 1965, was a Polish-American businesswoman and cosmetics entrepreneur. She founded the company that bears her name and is credited with revolutionizing the beauty industry by introducing innovative skincare products and makeup lines.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Helana, each leaving an indelible mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of this name's legacy.
People
Helana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Helana 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
Helana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Helana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 536 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Helana 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 639,467 US residents.
Is Helana a common name?
We classify Helana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 560 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Helana most popular?
The single biggest year for Helana was 2006, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Helana is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Helana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Helana in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.