Helen

American  

[hel-uhn] / ˈhɛl ən /

noun

1. Also called Helen of Troy.  Classical Mythology. the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda and wife of Menelaus whose abduction by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War.

2. a female given name.

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Helen British  

/ ˈhɛlɪn /

noun

1. Greek myth the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction by Paris from her husband Menelaus caused the Trojan War

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Etymology

Origin of Helen

< French Hélène < Latin Helena < Greek Helénē, of obscure origin, probably the name of a pre-Greek vegetation goddess; often linked by folk etymology with helénē, helánē torch, St. Elmo's fire, an unrelated word

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Helen

Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "Economic growth in every postcode sounds great and is something we would all love. I think it'll actually be much harder to achieve in practice."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

“The Odyssey” and all its accompanying discourse remain omnipresent, but we have been talking about it since Christopher Nolan’s casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy was revealed months ago.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

The unfaithful Clytemnestra and Helen are supposed to be contrasting forces to Anne Hathaway’s loyal Penelope.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

Helen of Troy has trimmed its product selection to help reduce the impact of higher U.S. tariffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Hobie’s wife, Helen, was cleaning off the table tops at the back of the restaurant when the doctor entered.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy