Yelena?

[NatMoz]

If you are British or from an English speaking nation, how would you pronounce this name?

Trying to think of names that won't cause a lifetime of drama in England. In my head this name is pronounced how it's spelt, similar to its sister name Elena (el-en-ah) but I've also heard Elena pronounced in other wacky ways including the English Eleanor and wondered if Yelena would share the same fate?

I would have thought it's more like Helena

Yel a na.

With the a being soft. I think it sounds like it would be one I'd only need to be corrected a couple of times on. I have that problem with English names too so it's not really a negative.

I would pronounce it Ye-lay-nuh.

I would say Ya-lay-nah

Yell-a-nah. Stress on second syllable.
I’ve always liked it said but not written I think ?!

@dementedpixie

I would have thought it's more like Helena

Yes I would personally pronounce it was close to this.

Yel- en- ah

Find it interesting that already there are about 3 different ways people feel it's pronounced.

Yell-ay-na. Emphasis on first syllable

@HeronLanyon

Yell-a-nah. Stress on second syllable. I’ve always liked it said but not written I think ?!

So you would say it similar to the name Alanna?

I would pronounce it to rhyme with Helena too, but would also pronounce Elena that way too, which I prefer.

You le na

I have a Helena - pronounced as in ‘Christensen’, not ‘Bonham-Carter’, and knowing there is at least one other pronunciation, I wouldn’t assume anything. I’d let you tell me how it’s pronounced and go from there.

I would expect to see it spelt Jelena. Like Jelena Dokic, Jelena Ostapenko, Jelena Jankovic… I wouldn’t have any problems pronouncing it but then I am a tennis fan!

Yell-eh-na

Yel-AY-na. Russian-style. Am very familiar with it though!

This is not a name that is consistently recognised, pronounced or spelled the same way in the U.K.

Ditto many other variants of related names. I know someone who has an Elena (to me, this is pronounced El-AY-na, Spanish style), renounced Eleanor as she “liked to spell it a bit differently”.

To be fair, my friend has an Isaac, which you’d think was a one-option name for spelling, and he gets Issac all the time and even got Isacc the other week..

I said it like ye-lee-na (how you would say Selena)

Yell-AY-na

I've only ever seen it written jelena and pronounced as such with "y" sound, fun fact this is gigi hadid's real name!

Yel-AY-nah

I’d pronounce it as per the Black Widow film because my teen is marvel obsessed and taught me to.

@Buttons294749

I've only ever seen it written jelena and pronounced as such with "y" sound, fun fact this is gigi hadid's real name!

That is an interesting fact! I had no idea

op your q of me
So you would say it similar to the name Alanna?

No my mistake in trying to show how I pronounce it.

Ye-LAY-na.

Yeh-LAY-na

Nothing like Alanna

I would pronounce it like the character from the Black Widow movie.

And I would find it a bit odd if it was someone with only British heritage - I would presume a Yelena was Russian or similar.

@Kanaloa

And I would find it a bit odd if it was someone with only British heritage - I would presume a Yelena was Russian or similar.

My family are Ukrainian but I live in England