Helon
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "sun ray".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Helon. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Helon today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Helon births was 1924 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Helon. 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
- • The typical person named Helon is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Helons were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Helon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1924
36 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1929 SSA rank
#4,239
Tracked since 1893
Census
Helon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 208 people with the first name Helon, which placed it at #37,486 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
#37,486
National first-name rank
People counted
208
208 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Helon is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Helon 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 Helon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.5% · 157
- Black or African American17.3% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Helon
Out of the 671 babies given the name Helon since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Helon as a male name
- Ranked #4,239 in 1929
- 5 male births in 1929
- Peak: 1929 (5 births)
Helon as a female name
- Ranked #5,079 in 1958
- 7 female births in 1958
- Peak: 1924 (36 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Helon leans strongly female. 182 people counted with this name were female (83.9%), compared with 35 male bearers (16.1%).
Popularity
Helon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Helon from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 286 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Helon 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 Helon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Helons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Alabama, Mississippi, Texas recorded the most babies named Helon, while Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Helon
The name Helon is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots traced back to ancient biblical times. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "helon," which means "strong" or "powerful." It is likely that the name was initially used to describe a person's physical strength or inner fortitude.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Helon can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. In the Book of Numbers, Helon is mentioned as the son of Padah and a leader of the tribe of Reuben. This reference suggests that the name was already in use during the time of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, around the 13th century BCE.
Another notable figure bearing the name Helon was a Phoenician king who ruled the city-state of Tyre around the 8th century BCE. According to ancient records, King Helon was known for his military prowess and his successful defense of Tyre against the Assyrian empire.
In Greek mythology, there is a character named Helon, who was a son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. He was believed to be one of the ancestors of the Hellenic people and is mentioned in various ancient Greek texts, such as the works of Apollodorus and Pausanias.
During the Middle Ages, the name Helon was relatively uncommon but can be found in some historical records. One notable figure was Helon de Villiers, a French knight who participated in the Crusades and fought alongside Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century.
In more recent times, the name Helon has been used sporadically, with a few notable individuals bearing this name. One example is Helon Habila, a Nigerian novelist and poet born in 1967, who is best known for his novels "Waiting for an Angel" and "Measuring Time."
Another individual named Helon was Helon Ferrell, an American baseball player who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 20th century. He was born in 1888 and played in the Major Leagues from 1912 to 1917.
While the name Helon may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich historical legacy, spanning across various cultures and time periods. Its meaning of strength and power has endured throughout the ages, making it a unique and meaningful name choice.
People
Helon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Helon 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
Helon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Helon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Helon 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Helon a common name?
We classify Helon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 671 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Helon most popular?
The single biggest year for Helon was 1924, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Helon is about 84 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Helon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 208 people with the name Helon, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,486 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 Helon 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 Helon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Helon leans strongly female. 182 people counted with this name were female (83.9%), compared with 35 male bearers (16.1%). 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 Helon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Helon is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Helon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Helon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (157 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 Helon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Helon a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Helon 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 Helon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Helon 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 Helon 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 named Helon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.