Helen

Helen is a face that launched a thousand ships and a hundred thousand birth certificates. From the Greek helene, most often linked to brightness or the shining light, it gave the ancient world its most famous beauty and the 20th century one of its most prolific names, peaking in the early 1900s as a top-ten fixture. It slipped away for decades, but grandmother names are returning, and Helen now sits near 424 with new momentum. Two syllables, unadorned, full of air and light. The name belongs to Keller, to Mirren, to women who set their shoulders and do the work.