|
|
|
Comments for HELENA:
The entry says "Latinate form of Helen." This is reasonable from an English-speaking persective, but both derive from the ancient Greek name. Helen is the Anglicized version and certainly newer. Helena is the Latin transliteration of the ancient Greek name while the English version drops the final vowel.
There are two forms of the name in Greek. Modern and ancient Attic is 'ELENH and ancient Doric/Aeolian etc. is 'ELENA (the vowel shift eta-alpha was common between the dialects as in SPARTH-SPARTA). Note that the leading H is not written, but indicated by '.-- esalathe 4/13/2005
In German this is pronounced heh-LEEN-ah, in English it is traditionally pronounced HEH-lenn-ah. I simply adore this name; it is so beautiful, feminine, sophisticated, and strong, plus, its history is astounding.-- Anonymous User 5/29/2005
The Helena River (pronounced he-LEE-na) is one of the three main rivers in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia.-- Chrisell 8/14/2005
There's a town/city in Montana called Helena.-- Anonymous User 8/18/2005
"Helena" is a really beautiful song by My Chemical Romance. You should see the video for that song. It is absolutely stunning. What a lovely lady.-- MyChemsBadGirl 8/19/2005
Thanks to My Chemical Romance, I love this name! The song is beautiful. The song is named Helena after Gerard and Mickey Way's grandmother whose name was Elena (Helena) Lee Rush.-- michi_vane 4/22/2007
Can be pronounced as he-LAY-na, he-LEE-na or HEL-en-ah.-- Ciarda 10/5/2005
Helena is the greatest name in the WHOLE world.-- hstaylor1 11/17/2005
Actress Helena Bonham Carter is a famous bearer.-- Anonymous User 12/19/2005
Helena is my name. Usually people don't like their own names but I love mine. ^_^ I think it's a beautiful name and I'm proud to be its bearer.-- helena92 1/8/2006
The name Helena seems to be pronounced many different ways. There's hel-AY-na, hel-EE-na, and (this is my least favorite) helen-a.-- Anonymous User 1/19/2006
Argh! I can't believe you hate the name Helen-a, that's how you say my name! Take it back, now!-- Anonymous User 2/1/2006
Dutch pronunciation is hay-LAY-nah. [noted -ed]-- X-Mar 2/19/2006
I love this name! I think Helena is the most beautiful name ever! Wow, what can I say about this fantastic name? Not only its classic origin (a marvel of beauty, Helen of Troy) but also its sound and spelling are just incredibly
beautiful, graceful and ladylike. It reminds me of a woman gifted with both intelligence and beauty. It's the name anyone would be proud to have. Also I think Helena is more mysterious and unique than Helen. If I have a daughter,
she'll be named Helena! :)-- Lily Anastasia 3/3/2006
My name is Helena, and it has a French accent over the second 'e', which I couldn't get to show up here. Because of the accent, it is pronounced hel-ay-na. A Greek name with a French accent. My mother was definitely creative!-- helenamk 3/30/2006
I think Helena is more exciting than Helen, but they're both equally pretty and elegant.-- GroovyLady 3/31/2006
Can be prounounced:
Hey-Lay-Nah (as in the My Chemical Romance song)
Helen-nah (as in the actress)
And I've heard "Hay-lana" but I think that was someone doing a very bad accent...-- patchworkgirl 4/22/2006
One of Queen Victoria's daughters was named Helena (pronounced Helen-ah).-- Anonymous User 5/13/2006
The Greek singer (winner in Eurovision 2005) Helena Paparizou is a famous bearer.-- Keira_111 5/22/2006
It means "woman Greek" and in Spanish it is pronounced e-LE-na.-- Keira_111 5/22/2006
In Sweden, Helena is pronounced "he-LEH-nah", similar but not quite as "he-LAY-na".
[noted -ed]-- Ylva 5/26/2006
Saint Helena was the mother of Constantine I.-- wiswina 6/3/2006
Helena was also of the characters in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I think this is a very pretty and feminine name.-- Anonymous User 6/4/2006
Helena is a very common name in the Mennonite communities, or was, one or two generations ago.-- menno_girl 7/11/2006
My preferred pronunciation is "he-LAY-na". This version of Helen is much prettier to me; I always envisioned this dowdy person when I heard the name "Helen" (possibly due to the sound of the "h").-- Anonymous User 8/2/2006
English should be listed as well. [noted -ed]-- Anonymous User 8/14/2006
Listen to the German pronunciation of Helena here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html.-- _satu_ 9/3/2006
I believe Helena is a beautiful name. If I ever have a daughter I would like to name her this. It's old fashioned and classic yet not to common and still fits with the naming style of today. It's also very elegant sounding.-- Tito82 10/10/2006
No offense but I don't like this name, it sounds kind of snooty.-- Anonymous User 11/1/2006
This name has been perverted by popular culture throughout the ages. I personally hate this name, both because of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" character and the My Chemical Romance song (the only good aspect of it is when they do the umbrella dance in the music video XD).-- Eilicea 12/28/2006
I absolutely love this name! My Chemical Romance used it for one of the titles of their songs, which was inspired by Gerard and Mikey Way's grandmother's passing, whose name was Helen, but they thought of her as Helena. I say the name like HEL-len-a. If I had a daughter, I would name her this!-- ellahcooper2495 1/17/2007
Helena is a very beautiful name in my opinion.-- EgYpTiAn PrInCeSs 1/17/2007
"HEL-en-ah" is lovely, but I like "he-LAY-nah" better; it has a stronger sound.-- gaelruadh19 1/28/2007
This makes me think of a bad word.-- Anonymous User 2/13/2007
Very beautiful name. I like to pronounce it as "hel-AY-nah" but the other ways aren't bad either. This is much better than the name Helen, in my opinion.-- Anonymous User 2/23/2007
My name is Helena Clare (pronounced He-len-a) and I think it goes quite well. I was named after my auntie who pronounced it Hel-lay-na but my mother changed it to make it more personal. I like Hel-lay-na as well as Hel-len-a though!-- Anonymous User 3/1/2007
In the movie Mirrormask, the main character was named Helena.-- Roanoke17 3/31/2007
It is also used in Catalan.-- Anonymous User 5/3/2007
I prefer more Helena than Elena, I find it more beautiful.-- met 5/3/2007
I like this name; it seems elegant and strong, yet feminine, too. I like the nickname Nene (pronounced nay-nay).-- emoly93 5/21/2007
I love the name Helena (my version is pronounced Helen-a). It feels elegant, a little graceful, historical, strong. A good name to have. On the other hand, I hate it when people who don't know me, pronounce it He-LAY-na or worse still He-LEE-na. Yuk! And I really dislike my middle name 'Clare' but they do go well together. Helena meaning 'bright' and Clare meaning 'clear'.-- HCCook45 5/31/2007
My cousin's grandmother's name is Helena. She pronounces it he-leen-a. Her family calls her Leen. I thought that was an intresting pronunciation.-- Anonymous User 7/5/2007
I just find the name snooty and standoffish. The only pronunciation I have heard is hel-lay-na. She wasn't a very nice person either.-- Anonymous User 8/1/2007
Helena is the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Harry Potter book series. She is also known as the Grey Lady.-- sidewalkxlines 8/1/2007
So much better than Helen. I like it pronounced Hel- Lee- Nuh best.-- sharonrenee 8/12/2007
This is such a beautiful, classic name. (I pronounce it he-LAY-nuh)-- Fionafabulous 8/14/2007
Helena was the name of Ben the baker's wife in the Storykeepers series. It's also the name of my hometown here in Montana. Since it's the capital, it's known as the "Queen city of the Rockies."
You can tell who's from the South or the East Coast and who's not by how they pronounce Helena. Those from the West pronounce it HEL-en-a, while those from the South and East pronounce it hel-EEN-a (blech!).-- Atarah Derek 9/10/2007
Helena is one of the main characters in the fairy tale "The Seven Simons", which is a take-off on the story of Helen of Troy, and the fairy tale "Prince Fickle and Fair Helena", which I don't remember what is about, as I've only read the fairy book that "Prince Fickle and Fair Helena" is in once. Pretty much all of the fairy tales I mention on this site are in the collection The Fairy Tale Books of Many Colors, edited by Andrew Lang. I think Helena is a very beautiful name. I like it pronounced any way the other people have mentioned, but I prefer it HEL-enn-a. Indescribably prettier than the very boring name Helen.-- harry_sent_me 10/18/2007
My name is Helena I pronounce it he-LEE-na.-- Helena182 11/11/2007
This is a really pretty name. I like it a whole lot better than Helen.-- aquaspirit96 12/27/2007
My name :) Pronounced ay-LAY-na in Portuguese (the h is silent).-- mellon.collie 1/4/2008
Whenever I hear this name, I think of MCR's song "Helena". Because I have this view, I think it's dark, mysterious and very pretty.-- Anonymous User 2/19/2008
The name Helena is a strong, feminine name. I like that it is a classic and traditional, but not too worn. It fits well with many last names because of all of its origins.-- Anonymous User 4/6/2008
Helena is such a beautiful and elegant name. I love it to death.-- LucyHugh 5/17/2008
Famous bearers:
Model Helena Houdová
Actress Věra Helena Hrubá-Ralston
Actress Helena Houbalová-- MaggieSimpson 5/20/2008
Nickel Creek's song Helena is probably one of their best.-- Anonymous User 7/11/2008
Contrary to the pronunciation entry, I've heard Helena pronounced:
HEL-in-a
huh-LEE-Na.-- JadePenbrooke 8/1/2008
Helena Dvořáková, actress, born 30th January, 1979 in Brno.-- Emilie007 8/26/2008
Helena is one of the characters of the fighting game series, Dead or Alive. She is the main character of Dead or Alive 4.-- Zan11 12/10/2008
Helena Christensen is a Danish model.-- Anonymous User 12/29/2008
This may just be my favorite female name. I prefer the pronunciation "He-LAY-na". If I ever have a little girl, this will be her name.-- MorbidHarlequin 1/19/2009
My mother's name, since she is Dutch she pronounces it Heh-LAY-nah. I think it is a lovely name if it is pronounced Heh-LAY-nah, not a fan of Heh-len-ah. Also, my mother's nickname was Heleen, pronounced Heh-LAYN. I would definitely give Helena or Heleen as a middle name to a daughter.-- emmiix3 1/20/2009
Pronouced Ee-le(like cliché)-nuh in Portuguese.-- Anonymous User 1/26/2009
In Croatian: hell-ENN-ah.-- enchy 9/10/2009
In Estonia there is a very popular form from Helena (probably derived from it)- Heleri or Helery. It popped up about 30 years ago and now is very widely used.-- Arwo 9/25/2009
Lesser known is the Lakota (commonly known as Sioux) Native American version of this name. The pronunciation is /he LEE nah/. It is the Lakota version of the name that gave the Montana city it's name, not the Greek. Famous bearer's of the name include the Oglala Lakota holy man and leader, Tasunka Witko's (or Crazy Horse in English) second wife. It may also be from her that the city of Helena, Montana gained it's name or some other Native American woman as the name was common amongst the Lakota people.-- LakotaGirl 11/7/2009
Also used in Croatia. [noted -ed]-- goricar 11/14/2009
Whilst I think this is a nice name, I prefer the name Helen. Helena just sounds a bit too Mediterranean for me, personally.-- walesgal92 11/21/2009
Key: Meaning/History Usage Pronunciation Famous Bearer Personal Impression Other
Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
| Home : Comment | Copyright © 1996-2009 Mike Campbell | Contact Information |
