Helena

[caitlinrose]

Helena is a name I liked a while back. I didn't even think of it for the longest time. I recently discovered it again.

What do you think of Helena?

I like that it's a classic but sometimes it bothers me that it has the "hell"-sound in it and does sound a bit dark and gloomy.

Does Ellie work as a nickname for Helena? Ellie is on our list too.

It's not like I wouldn't use Ellie as a full name, it's more that I like Helena and Ellie but I don't like any nicknames for Helena (Hellie, Lena, Leni) but I do like Ellie so wondering if this would work as a nickname from time to time or to offer to people who want to use a nickname so that they don't resort to Hellie.

Oh God, here we go with the rhotic v non-rhotic thing! Non rhotic people don’t sound their Rs!

I love the name, but am biased as well.

Ours in pronounced as in Christensen. I also love it pronounced as in Bonham-Carter, but that doesn’t work with our surname - it’s slightly tongue-twistery and repetitive.

Not keen on the Heleena pronunciation.

She will get all sorts of pronunciations, but once corrected, people get it right. And her friends will take delight in correcting teachers and others when they don’t pronounce it her way!

Ellie is fine as a nickname.

I like it, I think it's really pretty.

I knew one who pronunced it Hel-ay-na and used Laney as a nickname. Ellie feels like a slightly contrived to me, but I wouldn't question it if that how someone introduced themselves.

How much do you dislike the other nicknames? Because while you can have Ellie lined up as your choice you can't decide what you child will pick for themselves once they start thinking independently.

I’m an ellie (Eleanor) and used to long to be a Helena. Still love it now and would use it if it wasn’t so close to my own name. I’d pronounce them to same though El-an-er/hell-en-er. It’s elegant and timeless imo. It’s the right level of unique for me too. Not too many about, but not a ridiculous out there name.

Forgot to say, I don’t think you could get away with Ellie as a nickname. Although I have no idea what nickname Helena’s go by.

I am one, pronounced Hel-uh-nuh. I really like my name. I don't often meet another one.

I was occasionally called Hels or Hells Bells at university, but otherwise I've never had a nickname and that's fine with me.

People do sometimes pronounce it Hel-ee-nuh or Hel-ay-na but I don't mind correcting them at all, and once people know the right pronunciation it seems to stick.

I know a Helena nicknamed Hellie.

I like Helena. In Hungarian it is Ilona, pronounced Eelona. It was my aunt's names.

My niece called Helena. NIC name Lena pronounced layna.

Yes @TidyDancer that’s what it is. I’m Scottish so really pronounce my rrrrrrrrrrrrs 😁

Helena seems a nice enough name. Three possible pronunciations would annoy me though personally. Sorry but Ellie is the dullest possible name/nickname I can think of.

I like Helena but if you don't like the common shortened forms then I would be wary. Kids rarely end up with the nick-names that you plan. I really like the shortenings pronounced Layna/Layni, much more than Ellie. You could also probably stretch to Nell, although that is usually for Eleanor.

Could you shorten it to Ella. Helena is lovely.

No need to be rude @OohMrBingley - I don’t understand why they put the r in the way they pronounce it if they actually don’t pronounce the r as you say? Surely it’s then redundant? I totally understand that people speak differently but why add a random r if you don’t pronounce the r 😂

My DD is a Helena - pronounced Helen-ah. She gets Nell or Nellie as a nickname.

Because it is signalling how they would logically pronounce it.

So Helen-er

…would be how I, as someone with a non-rhotic accent would also pronounce any other word ending in ‘er’, e.g. rider, biker, gather, father, mother, etc.

All those words, in a non-rhotic accent, end the same way as the end of ‘Helen-a’ sounds (so: ride-a, fath-a, moth-a), etc.

It won’t be logical to someone with a rhotic accent, but it’s completely logical to someone with a non-rhotic accent.

Sorry for the frustration - it’s just that threads always gets derailed when someone says ‘the ‘R’ doesn’t make sense!’

And surely most people have heard how people with a non-rhotic accent pronounce their Rs - it’s the bog-standard BBC / southern England accent (I’m not British, before I get jumped for assuming everyone knows what this accent sounds like, but I do come from another English-speaking country, so if I know, I would imagine most British people have encountered such an accent).

It's a great name but I'm biased 😉 . You do get people trying to work out the pronunciation but it's never been a problem, certainly not annoying and there are other names that have varying vowel sounds. (E.G. Alicia could be Al-ee-see-ah or Al-ee-shah)

I never shorten it. It's short enough already but will answer to H. I don't like Ellie as a nn. If you want Ellie you need an Elena (which I dont like as it's Helena without the H) or Eleanor.

Helen is a totally different name and not a nn.

It's always been rare. I have met very few Helenas.

Thanks! That makes perfect sense! I was confused as I would pronounce Helena like Elena (hell-ay-na/elle -ay-na). But the ending confused me with the ‘r’ as the poster you were referring to questioned, I didn’t get it, but you’ve explained it so well. I forget that some people say the ‘r’, like ‘ride-aa’, and ‘ride-errr’ as I’d say the former. I didn’t even realise I said ‘ride-aa’- looks so odd typed out like that!!

None or the 3 Helena's I've known had nicknams.

Ha-LEE-nuh is my favourite pronunciation.

@OohMrBingley thanks. Well I’m in Scotland so not SE England. And yes I’d I know that we pronounce rs differently but I’ve never seen one added in when it wasn’t there to start with!

I know a Leni but I’m not that keen on that as a nickname

But they’re not adding an ‘R’, per se.

They’re utilising an R (er), to should how they would pronounce something.

Haha, yes! I went to school with a Helena and she was just... Helena. No nickname necessary.

I don't think you have to worry about "Hel" because the emphasis is on the last syllable, isn't it? Unlike Helen for example.

I like hel-eeena and that's how I thought Helena christensen's name was pronounced

I love Helena but don't think that you can naturally relate Ellie to it. I think that Hel en ah has become the default pronunciation so occasional Hel at nahs or whatever wouldn't be a massive issue.

Beautiful name. Love it