Page 2 | Elena Eleanor pronunciation

firstpregnancy1 · 2020-06-02T10:14:53+00:00

I personally would pronounce Eleanor and Elena exactly the same - eh le na (with the stress on the first syllable) If I want that pronunciation, should I use Eleanor or elena ? I worry that with Eleanor there will be SOME people who pronounce it eh le NOR. I know this would really irritate me. Equally , would Elena be pronounced by some people as eh LAY na or eh-LEN-a ? Anyone know/ got an Eleanor / Elena who can share their findings ? Thank you!

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Destroyedpeople · 03/06/2020 09:40

Nobody stresses the final syllable on Eleanor. Say it out loud and listen.

MysteriesOfTheOrganism · 03/06/2020 09:34

Elena: Ell AY na or ELL uh na (I'd ask which one they prefer).

Eleanor: Ella NOR (always)

Destroyedpeople · 03/06/2020 09:34

Nobody says 'Elen OR..the people that are telling you that are mistaken.

At the end of both these names in usual pronunciation is the 'schwa' sound or the neutral vowel sound that we love so much in English. I love the 'schwa'.

The spelling really just changes the stress.

Someone will come on now and say 'but my sister says 'elenOR. I can assure you she doesn't . It's just that we are not very good at listening and transliterating sounds.

Destroyedpeople · 03/06/2020 09:26

Elena= El AY nuh Eleanor = EL en uh

OnlyJudyCanJudgeMe · 03/06/2020 09:24

@Apolloanddaphne

Oh gosh - another Scottish person here. I have NEVER heard Eleanor pronounced any other way than Elli-nor. I would also put the 'r' on the end of Victor and Hector. Elena I would pronounce Ell-ay-na and to my ears to sounds much softer and prettier than Eleanor which I find a harsh and clunky name.

Same for me!

yikesanotherbooboo · 03/06/2020 09:23

The majority of English people pronounce Eleanor Eh leh na . If you live in the south east I would name her Eleanor and pronounce it as you wish. A few people might pronounce it what I would consider to be the Scots or American way but all the people she knows well would use your pronunciation so I can't think that that would be a major problem. Elena has two pronunciations that have equal validity in this country depending on which background you are referencing and is much more likely to cause discomfort. Ellena looks a bit contrived to me.

samandpoppysmummy · 03/06/2020 09:08

My neighbour's daughter is called Ellena, which is the pronunciation you like.

Apolloanddaphne · 03/06/2020 09:04

Oh gosh - another Scottish person here. I have NEVER heard Eleanor pronounced any other way than Elli-nor. I would also put the 'r' on the end of Victor and Hector. Elena I would pronounce Ell-ay-na and to my ears to sounds much softer and prettier than Eleanor which I find a harsh and clunky name.

user1471523870 · 03/06/2020 09:02

I am Italian and I would pronounce it E-leh-nah and E-leh-nor

ScarfLadysBag · 03/06/2020 08:58

But I'm Scottish and we are proud of our Rs

ScarfLadysBag · 03/06/2020 08:57

Yes @SporadicNamechange's way is how I would say Hector and Victor too. It's not TOR; it's more like TIR with the I being very brief but the R being pronounced.

PuntoEBasta · 03/06/2020 08:52

If you want to be sure of your preferred pronunciation, I'd go for Helena, as in Bonham Carter.

We considered Helena pn helen-a but when we canvassed opinions it was widely pn as hel-ay-na!

AJPTaylor · 03/06/2020 08:47

The only Eleanor I know is pronounced Eleana.
Unless she is in trouble!

TitilatedOcelot · 03/06/2020 08:45

Elena = el lay na
Eleanor - el a nor

If you want to be sure of your preferred pronunciation, I'd go for Helena, as in Bonham Carter.

Ughmaybenot · 03/06/2020 08:41

Every Eleanor I have known has been Eh-le-nor (known a few) and I would pronounce Elena as eh-lay-nah. I know a couple of little Elena’s and it seems split on how their parents choose to pronounce their names.

SporadicNamechange · 03/06/2020 08:40

Most of the rhotic accents in the uk wouldn’t say hec-TOR or vic-TOR anyway. They’d pronounce the r, but it’d be more of a ‘tur’ sound with little emphasis on the vowel. The vowel pretty much disappears if I say it. Hectr and victr.

SporadicNamechange · 03/06/2020 08:36

There are no standard pronunciations in British English. All the attempt to claim that RP is standard British English are so problematic, however commonplace they might be.

And dictionaries are exactly the kind of institutions that perpetuate this bullshit.

daisypond · 03/06/2020 05:24

Eleanor is different to both Victor and Hector. It has two pronunciations, according to the dictionary, ˈelənər, -ˌnɔr. The first pronunciation is more common, like -er.

daisypond · 03/06/2020 05:13

ˈvɪktə and ˈhɛktə are the standard pronunciations of Victor and Hector in British English, according to Collins Dictionary. Both end in a schwa sound, (-uh), definitely not an -or sound.

SJaneS48 · 03/06/2020 04:57

Not of course in the least! Vic-TOR Meldrew?

fallfallfall · 03/06/2020 01:46

There’s an R at the end for a reason.
Of course vic-TOR and hec-TOR

cinnamonbun · 03/06/2020 01:20

My daughter is called Elena and we pronounce it El-en-uh. I know there are lots of different pronunciations though and people do get confused with it. To me, Eleanor is how it looks, El-en-OR.

AnEleanor · 03/06/2020 01:17

It’s not an accent - it’s a name. Also I dont ‘force’ anyone to do anything, I just think less of them if they continue to ignore my preference for how I say my own name.

Elea-nor and Ele- na are not accent dependent differences. It’s like if I insisted on making Susan And Suzanne sound the same.

PuntoEBasta · 03/06/2020 01:10

@AnEleanor

I am an Eleanor (See name change). I spend my whole life correcting people to say Elea-nor rather than Elean-uh. I Hate the -nut ending as much as other share the -nor ending. Also ITS NOT A GOOD NAME. See how many of us don’t use it on this thread! I see it so often recommended on MN and I always want to say - nooooo! I know four fellow Eleanor’s around my age, I use my middle name, everyone else is an Elle or Ellie. I barely even respond to it now.

You force people to change their accent in order to give your preferred pronunciation?

AnEleanor · 03/06/2020 01:06

I am an Eleanor (See name change). I spend my whole life correcting people to say Elea-nor rather than Elean-uh. I Hate the -nut ending as much as other share the -nor ending. Also ITS NOT A GOOD NAME. See how many of us don’t use it on this thread! I see it so often recommended on MN and I always want to say - nooooo! I know four fellow Eleanor’s around my age, I use my middle name, everyone else is an Elle or Ellie. I barely even respond to it now.