Opinions needed on Violet and Helena please

[TheTealOtter]

Like both but a few people I've mentioned to associate Violet with "violent" and wondering how most people say Helena. We would pronounce "Helen-ah" but know there is the potential for Hel-ay-na, Hel-ee-na, and Helen-ar (too similar to Eleanor?) Violet or Helena or (suggestions)?

Violet really makes me think of violent, sorry. Where I'm from Helena is always pronounced Hel-een-a. Never heard it pronounced differently. I do like it! Personally I love Elena. Pronounced like -Eh-lane-ah.

I think violet is lovely and I’ve never associated it with violent myself.

I would say Helena like you but there is a potential for mispronunciation, as well as everyone mishearing it and saying Eleanor or Helen which could get really annoying!

Not a fan of Violet. I pronounce Helena as people tell me they pronounce it.
I have known
Helen-ah
He Lay Nah
He Leeh nah
and Helen ar

Round here people would call her Helen-ah or even Elen-o (with the O making the sound of the O at the the beginning of October). Violet would be pronounced Vi-let. I'm not too keen on either sorry OP.

Both names are classic and pretty.

I’d pronounce Hel-AY-na

And I LOVE Violet! Way nicer imo

I love Violet. It was my second choice name. I liked the Italian, Violetta too but DH said it sounded too much like a frozen desert! 😂

There is nothing violent about us Violets!

Both lovely names though a little Violet might have to endure Violet Bott taunts.

And Helena might have to correct people's pronunciation. And don't you dare call her Nellie!

Viola?

I like both. I think I prefer Helena, it’s such an underused classic, and I would pronounce it how you do, and I really like Nell / Nellie as nn options.

Both are nice i would only ever pronounce Helena as Helen-ah.

I am Helena (Hel-ee-na) and the majority of people in England do tend to assume Helen-ah. It's rare that anyone pronounces it as I do without being told beforehand (though does happen occasionally and makes my day!). I think you would still have some mispronunciation issues though- I know a Helen-ah who is incredibly frustrated by people calling her Hel-ay-na all the time, and I also get this pronunciation a fair bit!

Love Violet. Feel that Helena is very dated and also there are many pronunciations as a previous poster commented

Violet is nice.

Helena, if British, I would assume was Helen - ah. And if a different ethnicity I’d clarify. Personally not a fan of Helena at all though.

Violet firstly makes me think of those disgusting palma violet sweets and then the word Violent.

Helena is old fashioned to me.

I've never associated Violet with "violent", but the name gives me a headache for some reason.

Helena is beautiful. Say it once, and people will remember the pronunciation. But as pp said, standard British pronunciation is Helen-uh.

I wish you said it once and people remembered the pronunciation Some do, yes, but a significant number don’t, or go to another different pronunciation in my experience.

There will be less trouble with Helen-ah, but I’d still expect some to need to be told more than once.

I would pronounce Helena as you do, but do be prepared that others will get it wrong at times.

What about Viola?

Both delightful names.

If you like Violet, you could also consider Viola. Perhaps not quite such a similar sound to violent (though personally I don’t really connect the two.)

I think Helen-a would be the more usual pronunciation, I immediately think of Felicity Kendall as Helena in The Camomile Lawn. I’m pretty sure Baroness Kennedy is Hel-ey-na though, & if it was me using it I’d go with that pronunciation. She’d get both through her life but if you start pronouncing it the way you prefer it at least sets the tone!

I didn’t RTFT before posting so missed this comment - I agree, Viola is lovely

Helena is lovely and classic - although there are multiple pronunciations, people will soon pick up the correct one for your daughter, and does it matter anyway.

Violet still seems very old fashioned to me, and I don't get the current popularity. It's a lovely flower, scent, colour, but not a lovely word/name imo. Almost spelled violent, could be shortened to Vi (rhyming with why) which is not a nice sound. I quite like Viola but I am told that means something to do with rape in Spanish.

Ireland?

Helena nn Nell was my choice if I ever had a DD2

Helena is a lovely name. I’d pronounce it Helen-ah.

Violet does seem harsh to me. i prefer something that changes the ‘eye’ sound to ‘ee’ like Violetta, Violaine.

I prefer Helena and would pronounce it like you. I've never heard anyone say Helen-ar! The other two pronunciations would only be a potential issue with people reading her name aloud for the first time. If she's introduced as Helen-ah, people will quickly learn that that's how you pronounce it.

I'm not a fan of violet and one of the reasons is the 'violent' thing. There's no getting away from the fact that autocorrect suggests violent or violence when you start to type violet. It's not a great association, is it? It would be an unfortunate typo when people talk about her in messages.