Maryhelen
A combination of the feminine names Mary and Helen.
Name Census estimates that about 658 living Americans carry the first name Maryhelen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryhelen today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryhelen births was 1960 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryhelen. 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
658
~ 1 in 520,903 Americans
Peak year
1960
27 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,851
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Maryhelen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryhelen from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 184 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maryhelen 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 Maryhelen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryhelens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Maryhelen, while Arizona, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryhelen
The given name Maryhelen is a compound name derived from the combination of the Hebrew name Mary and the English name Helen. The name Mary has its origins in the Hebrew name Miryam, which is thought to be derived from the ancient Egyptian words "mry" meaning "beloved" and "ym" meaning "sea." The name Helen, on the other hand, is derived from the Greek word "helene," meaning "bright" or "shining."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Mary can be traced back to the New Testament of the Bible, where it refers to the mother of Jesus Christ. The name gained widespread popularity among Christian communities and has been a prevalent name throughout history. Notable figures named Mary include Mary Magdalene, a prominent figure in the New Testament, and Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), the former Queen of Scotland and a claimant to the English throne.
The name Helen has its roots in Greek mythology, where it was the name of the famous Helen of Troy, whose abduction by Paris sparked the Trojan War. The name gained popularity in ancient Greece and later spread to other parts of Europe. Renowned historical figures named Helen include Helen of Constantinople (circa 270-330 AD), a Roman Empress, and Helen Keller (1880-1968), the renowned American author, political activist, and lecturer who was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
While the combination of the names Mary and Helen to form Maryhelen is relatively uncommon, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this unique name throughout history. One such figure was Maryhelen Gouaux (1913-1996), an American actress and dancer who appeared in various Broadway productions and films during the mid-20th century.
Another notable Maryhelen was Maryhelen Vieira (1925-2018), an American politician who served as the First Lady of Rhode Island from 1973 to 1977 during her husband's tenure as governor. Maryhelen Swank (1911-2006) was an American actress and dancer who performed on Broadway and in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
Maryhelen Snyder (1927-2016) was an American author and historian who wrote extensively on the history of Long Island, New York, and the American Revolution. Lastly, Maryhelen Hendricks (1925-2016) was an American ballet dancer and choreographer who performed with several prestigious ballet companies, including the New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre.
People
Maryhelen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryhelen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maryhelen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryhelen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 658 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryhelen 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 520,903 US residents.
Is Maryhelen a common name?
We classify Maryhelen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,020 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryhelen most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryhelen was 1960, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryhelen is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maryhelen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryhelen 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.