Helle
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Greek. From Ancient Greek Ἕλλη (Héllē).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Helle (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Helle has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 6 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 337 | 20 |
| 2000 | 343 | 17 |
| 2001 | 354 | 15 |
| 2002 | 361 | 14 |
| 2003 | 358 | 11 |
| 2004 | 373 | 10 |
| 2005 | 379 | – |
| 2006 | 393 | – |
| 2007 | 410 | – |
| 2008 | 418 | – |
| 2009 | 418 | – |
| 2010 | 424 | – |
| 2011 | 431 | – |
| 2012 | 430 | – |
| 2013 | 432 | – |
| 2014 | 432 | – |
| 2015 | 424 | – |
| 2016 | 424 | – |
| 2017 | 418 | – |
| 2018 | 419 | – |
| 2019 | 416 | – |
| 2020 | 420 | – |
Helle in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Helle.Hi! My name is Helle.
- Helle bor i Göteborg och pluggar till sjuksköterska.Helle lives in Gothenburg and is training to be a nurse.
- Helle har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Helle has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Helles mamma är lärare.Helle's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Helles mamma is Helle's mum.
More names
Questions about Helle
How do you pronounce Helle in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Helle in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Helle mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Greek. From Ancient Greek Ἕλλη (Héllē).
How popular is Helle in Sweden?
6 babies were named Helle in 2022. In 2020, 420 people in Sweden had Helle as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.