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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Elena or Elaina?

37 replies

Raines100 · 11/03/2015 14:24

We've just found out we're expecting a girl, and so we can finally use the girl's name we've had in mind for years. She will be Elena, pronounced the Spanish way, 'El-ay-na'. I'm concerned that, with this spelling, everyone will call her Eleanor or Ellen-ah (the Italian pronunciation). 'Elaina' should set the record straight... but will everybody think I can't spell? Confused

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Twiglets1 · 22/03/2022 06:21

I would assume someone with a child called Elaina couldn’t spell - it even just got picked up by the spellchecker on here!

Ihavehadenoughalready · 22/03/2022 06:14

Elena. We have one.😀

Only issue we have with ours is some people say EEEE-layna, and that would probably occur with Elaina as well.

Elena corrects people who pronounce it wrong. We say Ah-layna.

She gets called Laney, too, which is cute.

AdalineStephen · 20/03/2022 15:02

I'll just leave this here:
youtube/BUi9vMqXxDo

Lilaclavenders · 20/03/2022 14:10

I agree - nowhere is Elena pronounced as El-ay-na. There's NO ay sound!

Elena is very popular in Germany too where it's simply Elen-ah.

So if any parent wants Elayna, then spell it Elayna or Elaina!

Yellowbeeblueflower · 20/03/2022 13:49

I can tell you for a fact that Elena is not pronounced El-ay-na by Spanish! It's only Americans and some British (not all regions) that spell Elena as El-lay-na.

Italians, Spanish and all EU countries spell Elena as Elen-na and it's an extremely popular name in southern Europe.

Please name your child Elena, with an expectation to be pronounced El-lay-na, only and only if you really don't mind correcting more than half of the population on how to spell/pronounce it.

My name is one of them that everyone gets it wrong and it makes my life miserable...

If you want to be pronounced El-lay-na, go for Elaina or Elayna or Eleina or Eleyna or Elana.

Not Elena!!!

JDF1611 · 20/03/2022 11:11

@Raines100 thank you so much for taking the time to reply! It's a lovely name and so pleased your daughter likes it too :)

Original poster
Raines100 · 20/03/2022 08:24

@JDF1611 Our Elena is now 6 years old and loves her name. We realised that we (and she in future) would be far less likely to lament the correct spelling, regardless of how others cope.

I'd say it's about 50/50 as to whether people are familiar with the name already. She often gets Eleanor from people reading it first, and some people seem never to have heard it before and ask me to repeat it, but it's all quite easily resolved. No one continually gets it wrong. It doesn't feel like a big deal.

Hopefully, she won't find it tedious in future, but for now, she loves it.

OP posts:
JDF1611 · 20/03/2022 07:22

@Raines100 OP I know this thread is incredibly old now..! But I'm in the same predicament! What did you choose in the end?

SteppeAwayFromTheKeyboard · 13/03/2015 09:34

I would write Elena and pronounce it E -lay- na, but then I lived in a Russian speaking country and that is how it is pronounced there. (Lena said Lay-na for short)

woffington · 12/03/2015 19:21

To make matters more confusing I know an Eleni who pronounces her name Elaney. Apparently the 'correct' way of pronouncing it is L N E.

woffington · 12/03/2015 19:20

I have an Alaina!

Don't arrest me mumsnet for making up a name!!!!!

Grin
squoosh · 12/03/2015 10:29

I have a Spanish friend called Elena. She doesn't quite pronounce it as elayna, more like uh-leh-na.

wigglesrock · 12/03/2015 09:36

Elena was on the list for dd3 for a good while, I pronounce it E Len a. I didn't go for it in the end because they was a lot of mangled pronounciation, I think when I heard people say Eleanor for it, that was the final nail in the coffin for me, I went with a different name. Elena is a really lovely name, the spelling Elaina not so much.

Original poster
Raines100 · 12/03/2015 07:06

Yikes! A Disney princess called Elena? That's quite a compelling reason not to alter the spelling! I was just thinking the anglicised alternative might make more sense in the UK, but if the original spelling comes into common usage, I'll probably just look daft. Now to convince DH. He'll probably go all indignant and non-conformist and demand the other spelling now

OP posts:
Wednesbury · 12/03/2015 05:58

Elena.

I have one (pronounced Elayna) and it's sometimes mmispronounced but eaaily corrected. There was another Elena at nursery with her - both pronounced the same way.

Apparently Disney are creating a Princess Elena. DD will be very excited.

Original poster
Raines100 · 12/03/2015 05:48

Thank you for your kind responses, ladies. Unfortunately, I'm getting the opposite result when asking people face to face- maybe it makes a difference if you say the name first and then try to spell it?- so, for the moment, I'm none the wiser Smile! Ah well, 20 weeks to decide...

OP posts:
TheRestofmylifeiswaiting · 11/03/2015 20:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rockinrobintweet · 11/03/2015 20:03

my mothers name is Elaina and I love this name, so much so I wanted it to be my daughters middle name. like you I couldn't decide on spelling however as prefer it Elena as you've said.

in the end i used my grandmothers name Eleanor as the Middle name instead.. stopped confusionHmm

I think if it was to be DDs first name i would use Elaina though.

DramaAlpaca · 11/03/2015 20:01

Go with Elena. It's perfect as it is.

SoupDragon · 11/03/2015 18:23

I would pronounce Elena as Elayna so stick with Elena. I think Elaina looks terrible.

Angelto5 · 11/03/2015 18:21

Nothing wrong with the name Elaine Wink

I personally like your Elaina spelling as it is pronounced exactly as it's spelt!

pilates · 11/03/2015 18:14

Elena

minipie · 11/03/2015 18:05

Elena.

I knew an Elena and it was pronounced Elayna. I never thought of pronouncing it Eleanor or Ellena.

It's not the end of the world if a few people pronounce it wrongly - just correct them and then most of them will get it right.

caughtinthemoment · 11/03/2015 17:56

Elena. Elaina just looks wrong, it's not pretty at all.

HeyDuggee · 11/03/2015 17:50

I've never heard of Elena being pronounced as "elaina"... So I'd happily mispronounce it even if I heard you say it differently unless you corrected me. I'd think it's a bit like Brits pronouncing chorizo incorrectly, and I'd sound silly trying to mimic your Spanish accent.

I'd go for Elaina spelling if you plan to reside in UK long term.