Given name & surname
Helge
“a holy woman; one who is successful”·“one who is productive and happy”
In German use, Helge has a related form in Helga. One German interpretation is “a holy woman; one who is successful.” Helge is a variant of Helgi. One interpretation is “one who is productive and happy.”
Original Old NorseHelgi
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Helge has a related form in Helga. One German interpretation is “a holy woman; one who is successful.” Helge is a variant of Helgi. One interpretation is “one who is productive and happy.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
In Norwegian usage, Helge developed from the Old Norse form Helgi.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1907. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Helge through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 49
- 49 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1930. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 244 as a first name in 2020; 123 as a surname in 2000.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Helge’s family of names
Helge has a feminine form in Helga. In German usage, Helge has a related form in HELG. In Norwegian Nynorsk usage, Helge has a related form in Helga.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Helge has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
Old Norsewhere Helge comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Helge
- Helge LøvlandNorwegian athletics competitor (1890–1984)
- Helge IngstadNorwegian explorer (1899–2001)
- Helge SchneiderGerman entertainerborn 1955
- Helge KrogNorwegian writer and translator (1889–1962)
- Helge LiljebjörnSwedish footballer (1904-1952)
- Helge BraunGerman politicianborn 1972
- Helge PayerAssociation footballerborn 1979
- Helge MeeuwGerman swimmerborn 1984
- Helge RosvaengeDanish opera singer (1897–1972)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Helge, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“island” · “spear”
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“of the thunderous rock”
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“brother”
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“willow”
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