Helin
A feminine name of Turkish origin meaning "she who is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Helin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Helin today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Helin births was 2023 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Helin. 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 Helin with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Helin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
2023
8 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,561
Tracked since 2002
Census
Helin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 259 people with the first name Helin, which placed it at #32,463 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
#32,463
National first-name rank
People counted
259
259 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Helin is White at 39.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.8%) and Hispanic (27.0%). 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 Helin 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 Helin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.4% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.8% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino27.0% · 70
- Black or African American5.8% · 15
Popularity
Helin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Helin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 27 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Helin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Helin 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 Helin 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 Helin
The name Helin is a feminine given name of Persian origin, derived from the Persian word "heleen" meaning "moon" or "crescent moon." It traces its roots back to ancient Persia, where the moon held great significance in various aspects of life, including religion, culture, and literature.
In Persian mythology, the moon goddess, known as Anahita or Nahid, was revered as a symbol of fertility, purity, and beauty. The name Helin was likely inspired by this celestial deity, reflecting the admiration and reverence held for the moon in Persian culture.
The earliest recorded use of the name Helin can be found in ancient Persian texts and literature, where it was occasionally bestowed upon women born under auspicious lunar phases or during full moon nights. However, it is important to note that variations of the name, such as Heline or Helina, were more commonly used in those times.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Helin. One of the earliest examples is Helin Vavilov (1887-1943), a renowned Russian botanist and geneticist who made significant contributions to the study of plant genetics and the preservation of plant diversity.
Another prominent figure was Helin Samandari (1904-1999), an Iranian feminist and journalist who played a crucial role in advocating for women's rights and education in Iran during the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Helin Wicker (1952-2022) was a celebrated American author and poet, known for her poignant works that explored themes of identity, love, and human experience.
The world of music also saw the influence of Helin Halvorsen (1929-2012), a Norwegian composer and violinist who produced numerous orchestral works and concertos that showcased her mastery of Nordic musical traditions.
Lastly, Helin Bölek (1986-present) is a Turkish-Swedish singer and songwriter who has gained international recognition for her unique blend of Turkish and Western musical styles, captivating audiences with her powerful voice and thought-provoking lyrics.
These individuals, spanning diverse fields and eras, have carried the name Helin with grace and distinction, contributing to its enduring legacy and adding richness to its cultural tapestry.
People
Helin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Helin 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
Helin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Helin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Helin 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Helin a common name?
We classify Helin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Helin most popular?
The single biggest year for Helin was 2023, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Helin is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Helin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 259 people with the name Helin, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,463 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 Helin 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 Helin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Helin on both sides of the split. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 56 were male (21.5%) and 205 were female (78.5%). 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 Helin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Helin is White at 39.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.8%) and Hispanic (27.0%). 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 Helin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Helin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.4% (102 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 Helin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Helin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Helin 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 Helin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Helin 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 Helin 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 Helin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.