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Original poster

How would you pronounce Elena?

83 replies

lucieloos · 11/01/2017 08:50

I would say E-Leh-Nah. What are your thoughts on the name and which spelling do you prefer? Elena, Elenna or Eleanor?

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Newtssuitcase · 11/01/2017 10:02

Elena = e lay na
Ellena = e LEN a
Eleanor = E len a

BabCNesbitt · 11/01/2017 10:00

Eh-LAY-na, like the author Elena Ferrante. If you want it to sound like Eleanor then I'd go with that spelling, otherwise it looks too much like naff kreative spelyng.

EssentialHummus · 11/01/2017 10:00

The Russian pronunciation would be Yelena, I think .

I'd pronounce it El-en-na. Wouldn't have occurred to me that it could be pronounced the same as Eleanor.

Ohtheterribletwos · 11/01/2017 09:58

I would say

Elena = Eh-lay-na (stress on the "lay")
Eleanor = El-la-nor (stress on the "nor")

watchingitallagain · 11/01/2017 09:57

There's one in my daughters class and they call her El-ar-na. Like Alana. It's very confusing.

Twoevils · 11/01/2017 09:57

I do think the double N will help with avoiding the 'lay' pronunciation.
Or just use Elen/Ellen which is also pretty.

Isthatwhatdemonsdo · 11/01/2017 09:54

I have an Elena. Spelt Eleana. Pronounced El- ay- na. People always pronounce it as Eleanor. She's Ellie for short as she hates Eleana.

MissSueFlay · 11/01/2017 09:52

Eh-len-a

JennyOnAPlate · 11/01/2017 09:51

El-ay-na

Staranise123 · 11/01/2017 09:50

No, I'd pronounce Elenna as Eh-LENN-ah

I'd spell it Elena.

Original poster
lucieloos · 11/01/2017 09:46

Would I be better using two 'n's if I want to pronounce ell-en-ah then? So Elenna?

OP posts:
Staranise123 · 11/01/2017 09:36

But shouldn't Elayna and Elena be two different names?

FromIbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 11/01/2017 09:12

I would pronounce Elena as Eh-LAY-na.

I had a Greek auntie called this and this was how it was always pronounced.

Vanillamanilla1 · 11/01/2017 09:10

El ay nah

Staranise123 · 11/01/2017 09:09

The German version of Eleanor is Eleanore, and is pronounced Ell-eh-an-OR-eh.

Elena is just Ell-en-ah.

Original poster
lucieloos · 11/01/2017 09:08

Thanks everyone.

Star, yes I would also prefer to pronounce it Elle-en-ah. The spelling Elena is a Welsh version of Helen. We are Welsh and so would prefer that spelling but I don't really like the pronouciation Ee- lay-na

OP posts:
Staranise123 · 11/01/2017 09:07

And yes, Elena is very different to Elean-or!

calzone · 11/01/2017 09:06

Although I can see it's quite pretty and popular......it's a nightmare of a name and the different way it can be said and spelt.

Do has 2 friends called Alana......

One is pronounced I-lenna.
The other is pronounced A-lhana.

Both get cross if it is said or spelt wrong.

steppemum · 11/01/2017 09:06

well, Elena is the spelling for Eleanor in many languages (eg German and Dutch) and so from those languages it would be pronounced the same as Eleanor.
(although i have a German friend whose duaghter is Elena, and he insists on pronouncing Eleanor as El - ee - an - OR Hmm )

But in Russian (and I'm guessing from PP Spanish and other languages) it is a completely different name. It is the long version of Lena.
So pronounced E -LAY - na, with the stress on the middle syllable.

So I guess it just depends on what you prefer.

Staranise123 · 11/01/2017 09:05

Elena is lovely and much more feminine than Eleanor.

I pronounce it Elle-en-ah, emphasising the first syllable.

I also like Helena.

BroomstickOfLove · 11/01/2017 09:05

Eh-LAY-na.

I would pronounce Elenna as Eh-LEN-a and Eleanor as ELL-uh-nor, so I don't think of them as different spellings of the same name at all. Also, there is a pretty even split between people who will pronounce the R at the end of Eleanor and people who won't, so if it's important to you that it ends with an 'a' sound, that's worth considering.

FourKidsNotCrazyYet · 11/01/2017 09:03

My daughter is called Elaina and I would pronounce Elena the same way (although my daughter gets called Helena and Eleanor too 😡)

QuodPeriitPeriit · 11/01/2017 09:01

I would say Eh-LAY-na. For your second spelling I would say Eh-LEN-a. If you want a name pronounced Eleanor (which for me has the emphasis on the EL)) I would spell it that way.

TheMortificadosDragon · 11/01/2017 09:00

I think it would be El-ay-nah but it would be liable to be pronounced other ways.

Eleanor is lovely and less likely to be mispronounced. Elena looks to me - in england, not if you were eg Greek - as if you've dropped the haitch from Helena.

fruityb · 11/01/2017 08:57

Eh-lay-na as my friends daughter is one

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