Name Halen for baby girl?

[marjanecarvalho]

Hello All,

I am struggling to find a name for my baby girl, my mother language is Portuguese from Brazil, my husband's is Spanish from south america and we live in UK. The name Halen has a family meaning for me, it is a name that my father really wanted for a baby for when he would become a grandfather, but he passed away 6 years ago, will never get to meet his grandchildren.

In Brazil Halen is not an usual name but I grew to like it because it is unique and I like the sound of it, as well that it is short and unisex.

In Portuguese we pronounce Hɑlen and not (Haylen), the A is well pronounced.
However through some research I found that most people think of Van Halen when they see the name Halen. Is this a bad thing? (considering they are an old band)

1. Can you please give me your honest opinion about the name Halen for a baby girl?
   
   
2. and I appreciate any suggestions too with the specifications: short name, not very popular or unique, that sounds good in Portuguese, Spanish and English - complicated I know!!!
   
   My son's name is Gael which I feel meets the spec above :-)
   
   Thank you all.
   
   Marjane

[Wolfiefan]

If you're in the UK won't a lot of people mistake it for Helen?

[NataliaOsipova]

Agree with Wolfie - people will assume it is Helen.

[AberdeenAngusina]

Yes, I think people will mishear it as Helen. That's not a problem if you are prepared to correct people; most people will only need to be told once.

[Flowerwords]

I miss read this as Helen which will probably be the common problem with it.
Does that worry you? Helen is a nice classic girls name in itself definitely a girls name in Europe.

Apart from my mistake yes it's a fine name.

[KatyBerry]

I immediately thought Van.

[NewStateswoman]

I think it's lovely; unusual but that's not always a bad thing, plus it has meaning for you.

If people think Helen, you'll only have to correct them once. And if they think Van Halen, well, so what?

[Chimchar]

I'm from Wales and on it 'Hal En'
It's the Welsh word for salt.

I really like it as a name.

[MikeUniformMike]

Halen Môn

[IHeartKingThistle]

I've never heard it before but I think it's gorgeous.

Will you mind people saying 'Hay-len' or will you correct them?

[Chimchar]

My first thought too mike!

[marjanecarvalho]

thank you guys, that is very helpful!!!! :-)

[marjanecarvalho]

Thank you @chimchar

[marjanecarvalho]

Thank you Iheartkingthistle I don't mind correcting people or if they say in a different way either. People speak different languages so it is inevitable the difference in pronunciation :)

[marjanecarvalho]

Thank you newstateswoman :)

[ABitOTT]

I didn't think of Van Halen at all but did consider it being misheard as Helen. I have a name with an unusual spelling & everyone mispronounced it. Only heard of another with the same name in adulthood & while at times I disliked the uniqueness, generally I enjoyed being different.

I like the name Halen & if it is your favourite name then go for it!!

[marjanecarvalho]

Thank you @ABitOTT :)

[UsaNayme]

I thought of Van Halen, even though I'm not totally sure who they are

[toffeeboffin]

First thing for me too is Van Halen

[toffeeboffin]

Be totally different if you lived in Portugal but in the UK I reckon most people will think of the band.

[Emily7708]

I don't dislike it, although I would assume you were Van Halen super fans. Similar names here would be Helen or Hayley.

[KingIrving]

Gael is a lovely from Brittany madame.lefigaro.fr/prenoms/origine/feminin-0/bretons-0 here you have other lovely names from Brittany.

I teach here in Australia, and some names are really unusual, and I stumble on them the first week, and when I say sorry, the kid will answer, no worries, nobody gets it.

[AngelicaSchuylerChurch]

I think in the UK most people will assume it is a typo for Helen. Depends whether you mind correcting them!

[ASqueakingInTheShrubbery]

Helen's not a very popular name for babies at the moment, so I'm not sure that I would jump to that as a first thought. I would assume it was pronounced Haylen until corrected, and I would think of Van Halen, but I like them so that wouldn't be a bad thing. I'd go for it, especially with your family reasons for choosing it.

[SuperBeagle]

I immediately think of Van Halen.

[senua]

Yes, I think people will mishear/misread it as Helen. That's not a problem if you are prepared to correct people; most people will only need to be told once but do remember that there are 7 billion people in the world.

Aren't Halen and Gael a bit same-y.