Meaning of the nameHelena
- Female
- Greek origin
- He-le-na
Helena is a female name of Greek origin, from Helene, a name probably linked to a Greek word for 'torch'.
- People (2022)
- 366,186
- Rank in Brazil
- #73
- Median age
- 8 years
- 2010 Census
- 197,591
- people
Helena in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Helena, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022 (112,611 people).
364,336 women 1,850 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Helena is most common
States with the highest share of people named Helena in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Santa Catarina 0.253%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.249%
- Paraná 0.247%
- São Paulo 0.229%
- Espírito Santo 0.228%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 101,894 | 0.229% |
| Minas Gerais | 46,624 | 0.227% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 28,980 | 0.181% |
| Paraná | 28,287 | 0.247% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 27,071 | 0.249% |
| Santa Catarina | 19,242 | 0.253% |
| Bahia | 17,790 | 0.126% |
| Goiás | 14,680 | 0.208% |
| Pernambuco | 11,047 | 0.122% |
| Espírito Santo | 8,735 | 0.228% |
| Pará | 7,537 | 0.093% |
| Mato Grosso | 7,388 | 0.202% |
| Distrito Federal | 6,017 | 0.214% |
| Ceará | 5,898 | 0.067% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 5,362 | 0.195% |
| Maranhão | 5,230 | 0.077% |
| Paraíba | 4,012 | 0.101% |
| Amazonas | 3,914 | 0.099% |
| Piauí | 2,758 | 0.084% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 2,738 | 0.083% |
| Alagoas | 2,645 | 0.085% |
| Rondônia | 2,375 | 0.150% |
| Tocantins | 2,048 | 0.136% |
| Sergipe | 1,948 | 0.088% |
| Amapá | 759 | 0.103% |
| Acre | 654 | 0.079% |
| Roraima | 553 | 0.087% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Helena
Helena is a learned borrowing from Latin Helena, which comes from Ancient Greek Helene, according to Wiktionary. For Behind the Name, the Greek name probably comes from helene, 'torch', or perhaps is related to selene, 'moon'. In Greek mythology, Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and her abduction by Paris gives rise to the Trojan War. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 366,186 people named Helena, with a median age of 8. Common among women born in the 1950s and 1960s, the name returned strongly in the 2010s and 2020s and, proportionally, is most common in Santa Catarina; the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil) lists Elena among the spelling variants.
It is the most common spelling in the group, with an initial H, as in the Latin form.
Other spellings of Helena
| Spelling | People (2022) |
|---|---|
| Helena | 366,186 |
| Elena | 46,773 |
Sources
- Wiktionary: Helena · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Helen · behindthename.com · meaning
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Helena · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
- Wiktionary: Elena · en.wiktionary.org · spelling
Questions about the name Helena
What does the name Helena mean?
Helena means “probably from Greek helene, 'torch'”, according to Behind the Name.
How many people are named Helena in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 366,186 people with the first name Helena, which ranks it number 73 among the country's names. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022.
Is Helena a boy's or a girl's name?
Helena is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 364,336 women and 1,850 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Helena?
Helena is a name of Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Helena most common?
Proportionally, in Santa Catarina: 0.253% of the state's population is named Helena (19,242 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Helena?
Elena. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
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