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I've been obsessed with the name Helen lately. It's short and sweet but says a lot. It's easy for me to imagine sisters Julia and Helen.
I think in many places Helen is viewed as a grandma name at this point, but regardless of its use in previous generations, what are your thoughts on Helen?
(I posted about Helena recently, but Helen is a completely different name IMO.)
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"We are all horrible and wonderful and figuring it out." - Harris Wittels
I think in many places Helen is viewed as a grandma name at this point, but regardless of its use in previous generations, what are your thoughts on Helen?
(I posted about Helena recently, but Helen is a completely different name IMO.)
"We are all horrible and wonderful and figuring it out." - Harris Wittels
This message was edited 11/17/2015, 8:18 AM
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I love Helen and would have gladly used it if enough daughters had happened. I've always enjoyed it, but I used to think of it as very popular in the 19th century and therefore a great-grandma name at best. Then I found new information from the family tree, and two relatives, both born in the 19th century and both called Nellie, turned out to have actually been registered as Nellie and not Helen, Ellen or Eleanor as I'd suspected. That surprised me greatly.
Helena, here in South Africa, is pronounced heLEEuhna, which puts me right off it. But surprising numbers of elderly English speakers were named Helene, pronounced heLEEN! Helen comes as welcome relief from both of them.
Helena, here in South Africa, is pronounced heLEEuhna, which puts me right off it. But surprising numbers of elderly English speakers were named Helene, pronounced heLEEN! Helen comes as welcome relief from both of them.
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Helen's nice, and I can see it coming back into fashion.
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I love the name Helen and consider it a timeless classic. It has a sweet yet dignified sound. I've always loved it since I was at school, aged five onwards, with a gentle, beautiful, golden-haired Helen, and I think also of Helen of Troy). I was once deciding whether to name a girl Catriona Helen or Helena Catherine. (In the end I didn't get the chance for either!)
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I think this is a beautiful name that has a fascinating history and can be used for a young child as well as an adult
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I like names that could be described as "sturdy, but with moxie," so I like Helen very much, and I'd like to see it used more. I know one little Helen who is 7-8 by now.
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It's one of my husband's top names, and used to be mine. Now I find it too heavy and formal. I met a young Helen not long ago, though.
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NMS, but I like its pithiness, and I prefer it to most of its variants.
It does make me think of the 1940s, but it doesn't sound "old" to me, just...mid-century modern/vintage.
It does make me think of the 1940s, but it doesn't sound "old" to me, just...mid-century modern/vintage.
This message was edited 11/17/2015, 9:19 AM
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It's okay, but only just okay. I don't like the hell sound being so prominet, and it is definitely a grandma name. I much, much prefer Ellen.
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Helen is used now and then where I live, and the pronounciation comes out much like Ellen.
Quite often, it's a hyphenated name, such as Marie-Helene.(with accents, which I can't make my key-board do.)
Quite often, it's a hyphenated name, such as Marie-Helene.(with accents, which I can't make my key-board do.)
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