How would you pronounce Elena?

[lucieloos]

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

Ell-ain-a with a short 'a' like in cat

Elle eh ner

I wonder where some people get the lay sound from...?

It's an extremely common Spanish/Italian/Portuguese name and we live in a global world these days where we are exposed to a lot of Latin culture, people, language, etc. I think it's also pronounced that way in the Slavic versions too.

So to me, Eh-lay-na seems normal. It's how I'd say it.

Agree the lay is Spanish (I have the theme tune to Elena of Avalor in my head and that is Eh-Lay-na)

I think its a name though that has developed different ways of pronouncing it (like Alicia) so pick one you like and stick with it people will get used to it!

Good advice quartz, I think that's what we will do if we go with the name. I'm sure it won't take people long to pick up on the way we want to pronounce it.

I have a friend named Elena in her late 30s and she's supposed to be pronounced "eh-LEH-nah" with the first syllable a schwa, but throughout our childhood people mostly called her Eleanor or Elaina when they first met her. Nobody ever got it right first time.

Eh - lee - nah.

I think it mostly depends on the person - all variations of the name are possible.

I know two girls with this name.

One is Italian and pronounces it eh-LAY-nah.

The other is Russian and pronounces it eh-LEE-nah.

Elena and Eleanor are completely different names. Here, Eleanor is eh-leh-NOR with the stress on the last syllable. Even if you pronounce Eleanor differently, Elena is still a different name.

Eh-lay-nah. I know loads of Russians called that. It must be the equivalent of Mary or John.

El-a-nah

Our friends daughter is called the way you want e-leh-nah and all she did was say that is the way she wants it pronounced and its fine. Be prepared to gently correct people and/or accept a different pronunciation but everyone at school/clubs says it correctly for her

Elena and Eleanor are different names with different roots. Elena is common in Russia and Hispanic countries and is their version of Helen. Eleanor is old French/Provencal.

You can pronounce Elena the same as Eleanor, but be prepared for lots of people to assume it's e-LAY-na!

Thanks everyone think if we go for that name we will just have to introduce DD how we plan to pronounce it and then people should pick up on it hopefully.

I know that Elena and Eleanor are different names with different origins. I was just trying to make a point that I personally would pronounce both very similarly.

I would personally pronounce it Eh-lay-nah

If you want her name to be pronounced the same as 'Eleanor' I agree you should call her Eleanor (or Elinor, which is a very pretty alternative).

I'm genuinely baffled by all the people who say they'd pronounce 'Elena' that way because to me it's quite clearly 'Eh-LAY-na'. I think you're likely to be spending a lot of your time 'correcting' people!

Dh prefers Elena as its a Welsh name. I'm baffled by those who say Eh-lay-na I can't figure out where they get the 'a' from in the middle but obviously different people and regions pronounce differently so we will just go with how we would say it. From this post it looks like plenty also say eh-len-na.

To me, Elena is composed of Elen (ellen) and a (ah), so El-en-ah.

Italians pronounce it with the stress on the first syllable, Spanish with the stress on the second.

Hence: ELL-ena and E-LAYna.

Having lived in Spain and then moved to Italy I would get it completely wrong at first.

The Italian pronunciation is much more similar (though not identical) to the UK Eleanor.

Elenna looks made up.

The thread shows, however, that lovely as it is (it was dd's middle name for a day until dp changed his mind) it's a bloody minefield as far as saying it goes.

I'm baffled by those who say Eh-lay-na I can't figure out where they get the 'a' from in the middle

It was explained earlier in the thread, tbf.

I think E-len-ah was also explained earlier in the thread lol.

The Spaniards may well emphasise the second syllable but will not add an ay sound. It is more a long eh sound (that doesn't seem to exist in English).

v

The second syllable is the vowel!