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Baby names

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

Eleni

29 replies

snarfungus · 06/04/2015 17:27

Dh is Greek and suggested this name.

What do you think? A lifetime of mispronunciations. Do you know any?

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Bowlersarm · 06/04/2015 17:31

I think it's lovely. I would day Er - lane - ee. Is that right?

Bowlersarm · 06/04/2015 17:35

Actually I've been practising Grin and naturally I'd say Ill - ane - ee

snarfungus · 06/04/2015 17:35

I like that pronunciation more but dh says its between that and Elleneee

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ToysRLuv · 06/04/2015 17:40

Yes, half Greek here. It's pronounced like it's written, letter by letter. Really like that name. Is it a family name (they usually are)?

AlpacaMyBag · 06/04/2015 17:42

Yeah it's sorta like "Eh-lenny" as I understand it. (Sorry to all Greek speakers reeling in horror.) Lovely name IMO.

Springtimemama · 06/04/2015 17:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GirlsonFilm · 06/04/2015 17:48

Half Greek here too, I love it, its my middle name (&it's my saints day), never had any problems with being pronounced in the UK.

SirChenjin · 06/04/2015 17:48

I love it. I know an Eleni and she pronounces it as El en ee

Flossiechops · 06/04/2015 17:51

I know a 2 yr old named Eleni - nicknamed Lenni. Very sweet Smile

DontCallMeBaby · 06/04/2015 17:52

I know one, would have got the pronunciation wrong when I first met her but now honestly can't remember how I thought it was pronounced. She's a bit of a Queen Bee, but I wouldn't hold that against the name. :)

ToysRLuv · 06/04/2015 17:52

Yes, the emphasis is in the middle.

bruffin · 06/04/2015 17:55

My godmother is Eleni but is know as Helen to her english friends

ToysRLuv · 06/04/2015 17:56

Eleni is the Greek version of Helen

Rosie29 · 06/04/2015 20:10

It's very, very common in Greece but presume you are in the UK so that might not be a factor.

StormBraver · 06/04/2015 20:19

I love it, used to know an Eleni at work. I think it is a very pretty name.
And a random bit of info for you: eleni (pronounced differently, more like el-lenn-ee) is also a Welsh word which means 'this year'.

KenDoddsDadsDog · 06/04/2015 21:10

I know a Helleni , also Greek. Lovely name .

Springtimemama · 06/04/2015 21:35

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MoominKoalaAndMiniMoom · 06/04/2015 21:37

I like it :)

Would be an issue if you ever moved to Wales though as it does mean 'this year'.

Twinklestar2 · 06/04/2015 21:40

Beautiful!

snarfungus · 06/04/2015 21:51

springtime that's the pronunciation I prefer?

Do people often get confused with her name? Would you recommend it?

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Allthatnonsense · 06/04/2015 22:00

Gorgeous name. There is one at school and she is lovely.

latenightmum · 06/04/2015 22:04

mispronunciations will await you

  • we have recently learnt to pronounce

Elena - Greek child - like eleanor
instead of El -ee -na
.... its el ... in ...a

A young child learns to train adults on the right name if it isn't obvious to all from an early age - then they get pissed off if you've given them a quirky spelling as the differentiation swifly turns into a problem for all.
No matter what Mummy does at an early age a large section of the UK will struggle to spell most names!

A childhood friend was called Eleanor and nicknamed Leni

So could Eleni accidentally be called Leni lots missing the first vowel?
Sounds more like a nickname?
Or better renamed as Lexi - but then short for Alexis, Alexia

Could you settle on a more straightforward name like

Elin .... Eliana ... Enea .... ?

ToysRLuv · 06/04/2015 22:17

Enea means "9" in Greek. I don't know how you would mispronounce Eleni, tbh. Maybe get the emphasis a bit differently at most, but it's very straight forward imo.

Treaclepie19 · 07/04/2015 15:40

Lovely name :)
It may be open to different pronunciations but many names are really.

susurration · 07/04/2015 21:12

I love the name Eleni. We have a friend called Eleni who is greek but uses a completely different name as a 'nickname' of sorts