Heli
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "sunray".
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Heli. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Heli today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heli births was 2005 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heli. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Heli with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
2005
11 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,255
Tracked since 1993
Census
Heli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 693 people with the first name Heli, which placed it at #16,322 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,322
National first-name rank
People counted
693
693 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
39.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heli is Hispanic at 39.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.0%) and White (25.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Heli described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Heli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino39.1% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.0% · 222
- White25.1% · 174
- Black or African American2.9% · 20
- Two or more races0.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Heli
Heli leans heavily female at 89.7% of total registrations, but 15 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Heli as a male name
- Ranked #13,255 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
Heli as a female name
- Ranked #15,996 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2005 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Heli on both sides of the split. Of the 685 people counted with this name, 261 were male (38.1%) and 424 were female (61.9%).
Popularity
Heli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heli from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heli 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 Heli 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 Heli
The name Heli has its origins in the Finnish language, where it is derived from the word "helina," meaning "ringing" or "tinkling." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been associated with the sound of bells or other musical instruments.
In Finnish mythology, Heli is also the name of a minor goddess associated with the sun and warmth. This divine figure was believed to bring the warmth of spring and summer after the long, cold winters of the region.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Heli can be found in the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala," which was first compiled and published in the 19th century. The poem draws upon ancient Finnish folklore and oral traditions, indicating that the name has been in use for centuries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Heli. One example is Heli Korhonen (1926-2001), a Finnish cross-country skier who won two gold medals at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
Another prominent figure is Heli Rantanen (born 1963), a Finnish diplomat and politician who has served as the Director-General of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities and as a member of the Finnish Parliament.
In the realm of literature, Heli Laaksonen (born 1952) is a Finnish author and journalist known for her works exploring themes of identity, gender, and relationships.
Heli Tulonen (born 1980) is a Finnish actress who has appeared in numerous television series and films, including the popular crime drama "Bordertown."
Heli Vaarakyro (born 1967) is a Finnish artist and sculptor whose works have been featured in exhibitions worldwide, exploring themes of nature, mythology, and the human condition.
While the name Heli has its roots in Finnish culture and language, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with strong Finnish communities or influences.
People
Heli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heli 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
Heli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heli 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 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Heli a common name?
We classify Heli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heli most popular?
The single biggest year for Heli was 2005, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heli is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Heli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 693 people with the name Heli, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,322 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Heli in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Heli?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Heli on both sides of the split. Of the 685 people counted with this name, 261 were male (38.1%) and 424 were female (61.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Heli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heli is Hispanic at 39.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.0%) and White (25.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Heli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Heli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.1% (271 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Heli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Heli a female name?
Yes, 89.7% of people registered as Heli 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.
Is Heli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Heli 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 Heli 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.
How many people are called Heli?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.