Is Helen too old fashioned?

[lavenderfields]

Not heard any Helen's for about 20 years! Is it suitable for a baby or do you think everyone would think I was from the dark ages!

My dd is Helen. She's 2 today and it suits her!

Love it I have a fab friend called Helen x

I have a Helen, named after my grandmother. The only drawback is when people insist on pronouncing it "Hellin". As a classic name it will come in and out of fashion over time, although I must admit the bulk of Helens seem to be 30+ at the moment.
I think it means "shining one"which is rather nice.

Helen is one of my absolute fave names and I know several sadly one is a total bitch which puts me off using it as she would assume it was named after her all of whom are between 1yo and 35yo. :)

It is a timeless classic.

Timeless classic, yes.

It's on our (currently hypothetical) list as mn only as we have several in the family already and know several more.

I don't think Helena is significantly different unless pronounced Hel-ay-na which I do not like.

I like it lots. My sister is a Helen and if we'd have had a girl we would have given her Helena as a middle name.

@everlong

Not keen.

A little stuffy, boring for a little girl same as when she's an adult

Ahem

Love the name Helen, beautiful and classic (and I normally like twatty names, have 2 twattily named DC), but it's so strong and elegant sounding... never met a bad Helen either

Yay for Helen! I am one too, am 31yo. Didn't much like it when I was younger but love it now. My sis calls me Nelly. I only knew one other in my whole secondary school, but since starting the world of work I've had two bosses called Helen!

Helena and then you could have Nell or Eleana

Love the name Helen, not keen on Helena. Helen is classic, nonfaddy ant a 'try hard' name. I don't think it would feature on the thread about daddy names either. Go for it.

And for the poster who was rather forthright about their dislike, yes you are entitled to your opinion. But there are ways and ways of expressing it.

Its nice.

I also like Elaine, Ellen and Helena.

Love it. Dd was nearly Helena. I prefer the simplicity of Helen now.

Yes it's particularly of a generation - I work with lots of thirty to forty somethings and those of us not called Clare or Sarah are called Helen. But it's lovely. Reclaim it!

It is a very elegant name. Go for it!

ZOMBIE THREAD.

Old fashioned yes. But absolutley gorgeous. You won't get many Helens if any in a class room now.

Zombie......
Helen would be Around 2 years old now

I have no idea about the zombie but have just seen all the typos in my post. Really should read things before I post.

I know lots of Helens late 20s/early 30s, but I haven't come across any children called Helen - I think it's possibly a bit 'dated', but to be honest it's been around a long time and is a real classic name.

It's a very pretty name too.

What about Helena, which is maybe a bit softer and more modern, if you're worried about being old-fashioned?

Love Helen!

Not at all fond of Helena. The trend for making names 'prettier' by using an -a ending is so, so dull. I think it will date badly too.

Also, you have the Hel-e-na or Hel-ay-na question.

Bugger. Zombie!