Helene

French variation of Helen

"bright, shining one"

Helene Origin and Meaning

The name Helene is a girl's name of French origin meaning "bright, shining one".

Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in the US in 1916, when ene, ine and een names were all the fashion, and stayed in the Top 500 until 1962, making a final exit in 1970. It still ranks well in its native France, and even more in Norway (#70). Model Heidi Klum's daughter 'Leni' has Helene on her birth certificate.

Helene Rank in US Top 1000

# 943 in the US

Popularity of the name Helene

• 1105 Nameberry 2025
• 116 Germany 2016

20 Names Similar to Helene

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Helene.

• Rosaline
• Silvia
• Letitia
• Antonia
• Lucinda
• Annette
• Marcella
• Sonia
• Magdalena
• Clarisse
• Gwendoline
• Therese
• Marian
• Nadine
• Evangelina
• Mirabel
• Merida
• Augustina
• Gwendolen
• Yvette

Famous People Named Helene

• Hélène Louise Henriette Princess of Orléans; Duchess of Aosta; daughter of Prince Philippe
• Hélène Cixous French feminist poet, writer and philosopher
• Helene Emma Madison American Olympic swimmer
• Helene Engelmann Austrian figure skater
• Hélène Grimaud French pianist
• Helene Fischer German singer
• Hélène Conway Mouret, French Senator
• Hélène Flautre French MEP
• Hélène Goudin Swedish MEP
• Hélène LeBlanc Canadian MP
• Hélène Laverdière Canadian MP
• Helene Mayer German Olympic fencer
• Helene Rother German auto designer
• Hélène Joy Australian,Canadian actress
• Helene White U.S. federal judge
• Anna Helene Paquin New Zealand actress
• Helene Boshoven Klum Samuel daughter of Heidi Klum and Flavio Briatore
• Helene Claire Stewart (b. 2013) daughter of American actor French Stewart
• Helene Deconninick French rhythmic gymnast

The name Helene in Pop Culture

• Also pronounced like Hel ay,na
• Helene Kuragin character in Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace"
• Celeste Marie Helene Dubois witch on TV's "The Originals"
• Helene Aquilla character in Sabaa Tahir's "An Ember in the Ashes."