Gender Feminine
Pronounced Pron. i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).

Related Names

VariantElaina(English)
DiminutivesLainey, Laney(English)
Other Languages & CulturesHelena, Helene(Ancient Greek) Elen, Lena(Armenian) Alena(Belarusian) Elena(Bulgarian) Helena(Catalan) Helena, Jelena, Ela(Croatian) Helena, Alena, Elen, Elena, Helenka, Lenka(Czech) Elin, Ellen, Helen, Helena, Helene, Eli, Eline, Ella, Elna, Hella, Helle, Lena, Lene(Danish) Heleen, Helena, Eline, Heleentje, Lena(Dutch) Elena, Elina, Ellen, Helen, Helena, Jelena, Heli, Helle, Leena(Estonian) Elena, Eliina, Elina, Ellen, Helena, Ella, Elli, Heleena, Heli, Leena, Lena, Nelli(Finnish) Hélène, Léna, Nelly(French) Elene, Lena(Georgian) Elena, Ellen, Helena, Helene, Alena, Ella, Hella, Lena, Lene, Leni(German) Elena, Eleni, Lena(Greek) Helen, Helena, Helene(Greek Mythology) Heléna, Ella, Léna(Hungarian) Helena(Icelandic) Léan(Irish) Elena, Ileana(Italian) Elīna, Helēna, Jeļena, Elēna, Ina, Līna(Latvian) Elena, Jelena(Lithuanian) Elena(Macedonian) Elin, Ellen, Helen, Helena, Helene, Eli, Eline, Ella, Elna, Helle, Lena, Lene(Norwegian) Helena, Helenka, Lena(Polish) Helena, Lena(Portuguese) Elena, Ileana, Ilinca, Lenuța(Romanian) Elena, Yelena, Aliona, Alyona, Lena, Nelli(Russian) Elene(Sardinian) Jelena(Serbian) Elena, Helena, Alena, Lenka(Slovak) Helena, Jelena, Alena, Alenka, Ela(Slovene) Helena(Sorbian) Elena, Ileana(Spanish) Elin, Elina, Ellen, Helen, Helena, Helene, Ella, Elna, Lena, Nellie, Nelly(Swedish) Olena, Lena(Ukrainian) Elen, Elin(Welsh)
User SubmissionÉlaine

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   refined   strange   simple   serious  

Categories

Entry updated December 7, 2022