Given name & surname
Hellen
“flat rock”
Hellen is a surname with more than one origin.
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a Swedish surname, Hellen goes back to a word meaning “flat rock.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Hellen is a variant of Helen. A possible origin is Greek, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1883. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Hellen is a variant of Helen. The history of Helen gives this family its wider story. Helen’s historical associations include the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Hellen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,353
- 0 boys · 8,353 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 195 babies
- 2025
- 112
- #1,800 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +29%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 112 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,800 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 29.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 195 in 1924. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,027 as a first name in 2020; 642 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hellen’s family of names
Hellen has a related form in Helen. In Danish usage, Hellen has a conventional equivalent in the German form Helene. In English usage, Hellen as a surname has a related form in Ellen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hellen
- Hellen ObiriKenyan middle-distance runnerborn 1989
- Hellen MubangaZambian association football playerborn 1995
- Hellen LukomaUgandan actress and artistborn 1992
- Hellen KimaiyoKenyan runner; athletics competitorborn 1968
- Hellen MurshaliMinister of Social Welfare of Central Equatoria, South Sudan
- Hellen AdoaUgandan politicianborn 1977
- Hellen van MeeneDutch photographer (born 1972)
- Hellen Jemaiyo KimutaiKenyan marathon runnerborn 1977
- Hellen SyombuaKenyan sprinterborn 1991
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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