How would you pronounce Helena?

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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?

No. 3 is how my mam pronounces her name although she is mostly called Lena now. She's irish btw.

Helen-a.
It's my middle name.

1. for the place name.

1. only if I had been told that was the preferred pronunciation.

Pronunciation 1 but I say it more as

Helen-uh with the uh being very light

2

I would say 1 unless told otherwise.

1. Helen-a

I know 2 and they both pn it like that. I think Helena Bonham Carter does too.

I've heard 1 and 2 but never 3.
Personally I deliberately avoided any name where there were different possibilities for pronunciation or spelling as I grew up with a Lynsey for a best friend and it drove her round the bend explaining it all the time, I think people saying it wrong would be worse than spelling it wrong. I vetoed my husband's favourite name Kathryn for this reason.

My DD is a Helen-a. She sometimes gets asked which way it’s pronounced, and it doesn’t bother her at all if people get it wrong. I think she quite likes that her name has different variations. She’ll also happily answer to nicknames. The usual one is Lena (We pronounce it Lay-na for some reason!) but also Nell, Lil (a combination of her first and middle name) or Layla (because her sister couldn’t pronounce it as a toddler).

2

Ha lee na

I would pronounce it as option 1 but the only Helena I know goes with the second pronounciation.

Hel-ay-na is how the girl I know pronounces her name :)

2

Eleanor with an H

Helen-a or hellayner

At least 2 of each of various ages

All the Polish people I know with this name pronounce it like the french word for Helen (Helene) with a phonetic A at the end. Basically said in a totally phonetic way.
I think it’s lovely this way.

1

Actually none, I read it as Hel EH na (emphasis on the eh rather than simply helen -ah however app but one Helena I know are Greek. The one English one I know pronounces it hel ay na

Hel een a. I know a couple with this pronunciation. I’m in Ireland.

I much prefer option 1 to the others.

Personally Helen-a but I know someone who has the name and calls it Heh-leena.

Helen-a. Which is the only pronunciation I like.

You could consider Helen which would avoid any ambiguity of the pronunciation. It is much less used than Helena for babies.

Hel- ena