Helga

Where Helga comes from

From Old Norse Helga (“holy”), a pre-Christian term, feminine form of Helgi. Doublet of Olga.
— Wiktionary's entry for Helga
  • Old Norse
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #908 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1899
    Peak, #565
    29 babies named Helga — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1902
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,024.
  4. 1934
    Helga Haase born
    German speed skater
  5. 1949
    Helga Seidler born
    East German sprinter
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Old Norse occasionally borrowed from Scandinavia.
Namesakes
  • Helga Seidler · East German sprinter, born 1949
  • Helga Haase · German speed skater, 1934–1989
  • Helga Pedersen · Saami politician from Norway, born 1973
  • Helga Radtke · German long jumper, born 1962
  • Helga Mees · German fencer, 1937–2014

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.