Hellena
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the first name Hellena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hellena today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hellena births was 2022 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hellena. 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 Hellena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
138
~ 1 in 2,483,727 Americans
Peak year
2022
13 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,056
Tracked since 1916
Census
Hellena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 264 people with the first name Hellena, which placed it at #32,084 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
#32,084
National first-name rank
People counted
264
264 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hellena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hellena is Black at 40.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Hellena 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 Hellena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.9% · 108
- White37.1% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 9
- Two or more races3.4% · 9
Popularity
Hellena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hellena from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 35 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hellena 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 Hellena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hellenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hellena
The name Hellena has its origins in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the classical period of Greece. It is derived from the Greek word "helene," which means "bright one" or "shining light." The name is closely associated with the mythological figure of Helen of Troy, whose abduction by Paris was said to have sparked the Trojan War.
In Greek mythology, Helen was renowned for her exceptional beauty and was considered the daughter of Zeus and Leda. Her name was often used as a symbol of beauty and grace. The name Hellena is a variant spelling of the more common "Helena," which was widely used in ancient Greece and Rome.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hellena can be found in the works of Homer, the ancient Greek epic poet who lived around the 8th century BCE. In the Iliad, Homer mentions Hellena as the name of a Trojan woman who was captured during the war.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Hellena. One of the most famous was Hellena Paulovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), a Russian occultist and philosopher who co-founded the Theosophical Society. Her writings and teachings had a significant influence on the New Age movement and esoteric spirituality.
Another notable Hellena was Hellena Mniszek (1592-1658), a Polish noblewoman who played a key role in the Polish-Muscovite War of the early 17th century. She was briefly married to the False Dimitri, a pretender to the Russian throne, and her actions contributed to the political turmoil of the Time of Troubles in Russia.
In the realm of literature, Hellena Glykytera (1924-1998) was a prominent Greek poet and writer known for her lyrical works exploring themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her poetry collections, such as "The Breath of the Muse," gained widespread acclaim and recognition.
Hellena Ioannou (1924-2018) was a Cypriot author and activist who played a significant role in promoting Cypriot literature and culture. She was awarded the prestigious Ghuelwetian Prize for her literary contributions and efforts to preserve the island's cultural heritage.
Lastly, Hellena Christensen (born 1968) is a Danish model and actress who rose to fame in the 1990s as a Victoria's Secret Angel. She has appeared in numerous fashion campaigns and magazines and has also acted in films such as "The World Is Not Enough" and "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars."
People
Hellena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hellena 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
Hellena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hellena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 138 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hellena 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 2,483,727 US residents.
Is Hellena a common name?
We classify Hellena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hellena most popular?
The single biggest year for Hellena was 2022, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hellena is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hellena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 264 people with the name Hellena, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,084 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 Hellena 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 Hellena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hellena appears almost entirely female. Of the 262 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Hellena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hellena is Black at 40.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Hellena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Hellena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.9% (108 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 Hellena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hellena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hellena 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 Hellena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hellena 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 Hellena 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 have the name Hellena?
See how many people have the name Hellena on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.