Comments (Meaning / History Only)
This name is an old French version of Helene - so is indeed derived from the Greek Helena.
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I agree with Jonquil. It is very common for names to be conflated and confused between languages. The Welsh word Elain specifically refers to a female fawn - and even today a term of the very greatest approbation is to describe a woman as "doe eyed".
It is clear that it is all too easy for some smart a*** to see an apparent similarity with a classical name like some of the variants of Helena and then claim the connection - and it is true that Helen of Troy is renowned as a great beauty. Nevertheless I am sure that the two names have entirely separate meanings and etymology.
It would be very helpful if people would identify the dates associated with early usage. I suspect that the use of the word as a personal name may have been invented by Arthurian bards as a cover name for someone else altogether for whom this would be a well understood allusion.
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It is clear that it is all too easy for some smart a*** to see an apparent similarity with a classical name like some of the variants of Helena and then claim the connection - and it is true that Helen of Troy is renowned as a great beauty. Nevertheless I am sure that the two names have entirely separate meanings and etymology.
It would be very helpful if people would identify the dates associated with early usage. I suspect that the use of the word as a personal name may have been invented by Arthurian bards as a cover name for someone else altogether for whom this would be a well understood allusion.
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Although usually identified as a medieval form of Helen, this name from Arthurian legend (made known in the 19th century through Tennyson's "Idylls of the King") is now widely thought to be identical to the Welsh word for fawn, Elain.
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