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Original poster

Elena Eleanor pronunciation

160 replies

firstpregnancy1 · 02/06/2020 11:14

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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SporadicNamechange · 02/06/2020 11:58

It’s like calling your son Hector and getting annoyed people don’t call him Hecta.

blindmansbluff · 02/06/2020 11:57

To get the pronunciation you want in my accent I think you'd have to spell it Ellena to make the beginning look like Ellen. Otherwise for me it's Eh lay na or Ellen OR

NamechangeforMay · 02/06/2020 11:56

You could use Elina? Or Ellena?

I would say Eleanor ELL-uh-nuh, but of course people who pronounce their Rs would say the R.

I would say Elena as e-LAY-na, but you could correct people.

Pippilangstrumpfie · 02/06/2020 11:56

Elena is pronounced Elen-ah in German but Eléna in Italian and Spanish. So depends on language.

Eleanor I've always pronounced as Elean or.

SporadicNamechange · 02/06/2020 11:55

I find it weird that anyone called Eleanor would insist on correcting people for their accents. It’s weird to insist that everyone pretends your name doesn’t end in ‘nor’ because you don’t pronounce Rs in your accent.

North Americans tend to pronounce my name differently to British people. There’s a consonant in the middle that is the key difference. They’re not wrong (and in need of correction); they’re just speaking with a different accent to me.

SoupDragon · 02/06/2020 11:55

Ellena or Elenna would probably get you the pronunciation you want but you'd have incorrect spelling issues instead.

CremeEggThief · 02/06/2020 11:53

Elayna and Eleanor, strong stress on -nor, so the opposite of you, OP.

ScarfLadysBag · 02/06/2020 11:52

I'm Scottish though!

SoupDragon · 02/06/2020 11:51

For me, Elena is E LAY na and Eleanor can be either Elenna Or Elenor depending on the person's preference. I have known people with both pronunciations.

ScarfLadysBag · 02/06/2020 11:50

I would always pronounce Eleanor with the 'NOR' unless told otherwise. Not sure I've heard it with an A sound at the end. If I saw it in writing I would definitely just say El-eh-nor. I can't think of how I would say it otherwise

I would say Elena as Eh-lay-na unless told it was Ell-enna

Pippilangstrumpfie · 02/06/2020 11:50

Na and Nor make completely different sounds.

Exactly

India999 · 02/06/2020 11:49

My sister is Eleanor (ella-nor) and that's exactly how we pronounce it. She hates being called Elena

Pippilangstrumpfie · 02/06/2020 11:48

Elena: Eh-leh-nah or Eh-lay-nah

Eleanor: El-ah-nor

I would always pronounce the NOR if it's spelled Eleanor (unless told otherwise)

Lavenderblues · 02/06/2020 11:45

Why spell it with a NOR at the end if you want it pronounced with an A?!

OnlyJudyCanJudgeMe · 02/06/2020 11:44

Elena: Eh-lay-nah
Eleanor: El-ah-nor

Pieceofpurplesky · 02/06/2020 11:42

El ay na
El en na

Rhodri · 02/06/2020 11:42

I'd pronounce Elena as eh-LAY-na and Eleanor as eh-le-NUH.

Bells3032 · 02/06/2020 11:41

I am called Eleanor and always pronounce it was a NA on the end. I sometimes have people say it with NOR at the end (particularly Americans) but just correct them. I also hate it with NOR at the end and as a kid i refused to answer to it. Now i usually just correct it and it isn't a big deal.

ComDummings · 02/06/2020 11:41

I would pronounce them Eh-lay-nuh (like Elena in The Vampire Diaries 😂) and Eleanor as Eh-la-nor

Lavenderblues · 02/06/2020 11:39

Elena. = Elen-ah

Eleanor = Elen-or

Exactly as it's written!

FourPlasticRings · 02/06/2020 11:38

Elena is definitely eh-LAY-na IME.

FourPlasticRings · 02/06/2020 11:37

I have no idea what type of accent I have, but I've only ever met one Eleanor and she was an el-an-nor. Went by Ellie mostly.

BillyAndTheSillies · 02/06/2020 11:37

For me Eleanor is either eh-leh-nuh or eh-leh-nor.
Elena would always be eh-lay-nah.

LilacSloth · 02/06/2020 11:35

I would say
Elinor - eh li nor
Eleanor - eh le na or eh le nor (would check how they pronounce it. I've known two and they pronounced it differently)
Elena - eh lay na

There was a little Elena in a baby group I went to and the Mum got very cross when the leader of the group called her Eh lay na not Eh le na (made me think it probably happened a lot).
I think whichever spelling/pronunciation it's pretty but if it will annoy you when people 'get it wrong' it might be better to use it as a middle name.

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 02/06/2020 11:32

Eleanor El- an-or/a (I have friends who use both pronunciations)
Elena El-ee-na

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