How would you pronounce Helena?

[Zippetydoodahzippetyay]

I love the name Helena but not sure if people would pronounce it the way I prefer it.

Would you pronounce it:

1. Heh-lay-na
2. Helen-a
3. Hel-ee-na?

1 if the person is British
2 if not
3 if an island

Helen-a. Unless they were from a country where Helayna was usual, in which case I’d guess that.

I didn’t realise Heleena was a potential third way to pronounce it!

hel^ en er^

Really? To end with an R?!

Its one of those names where I would ask the person how they pronounced it, because ive heard both Helen-a and Hel-ay-na used and I believe they are both common variations.
Normally id say Helen-a though

either bonham carter or 3 heleena

i actually dont know , it could also be 1

2, Helen-a

My DD has this as a middle name because I’m not keen on the other pronunciations.

@Zippetydoodahzippetyay don't let it be a reason not to use the name if you love it. It's irritating but now I'm older it can be amusing. I like my name and not many people have it. I'd rather correct people than be called Something else.

Sorry my first post was a bit negative

Thanks for that @mininionsteve
At the moment it's definitely a favourite but we have a list of about 10 we are quite fond of. Let you if time to choose though

@Clettercletterthatsbetter I'm actually not sure if many people would say Hel-ee-na but it was what my husband initially thought it was when he saw it written down. His parents were not native English speakers though so he often pronounces hangs differently to me.

I'd pronounce it Helen-a. I only like it pronounced that way.

2 Helen a

2 Helen-a.
or Hele-na/Hele-nuh.

Number 1 is also a logical choice imo. Number 3 however seems extremely strange to me...

1

2

1. It's a gorgeous name.

But I slightly prefer the Polish spelling Halina... Pronounced as it's spelt.

I would ask because I would think that 1 and 2 are common pronunciations. 3 wouldn’t occur to me!

I would pronounce it number 3, and I think it's lovely

However the person with that name asked me to but I prefer 2. Helen-a.

Helen-a, as the only one I know of is Helena Bonham Carter, and that's how she pronounces it. Obviously if you introduced yourself/your child to me with a different pronunciation I would use that, but on just seeing it written down I'd go with Helen-a.

1. Helen-a

@happytoday73 oh how interesting, I didn't know about the Polish version. My husband's mum was Polish.

2

Just occurred to me that there is a Helena Valley (pronounced Hel-ee-na) near where my husband grew up. That might explain number 3.