Comments for the name Elena

This is a really beautiful spelling. The name Eleanor looks as if it should be pronounced Elly-a-nore, which isn't as nice.

In Russian this name would be pronounced YEH-lehn-ah.

I have a little Russian sister named Elena (pronounced the Russian way, yes) and I think her name is so cute!

In Spanish, this name would be pronounced ay-LAY-nah.

The Spanish pronunciation is not e-LAY-na. It is eh-LEH-na. Only in English is the name pronounced e-LAY-na, though where the long 'a' sound comes from really escapes me.

Actually, it IS pronounced ay-LAY-na in Spanish. "E" is pronounced "ay," not "eh" in Spanish, so that's where the "ay" sound comes from in the English pronunciation, as well. This is my (non-Spanish) niece's name, but is also a fairly common name in the area where I live for girls of Mexican heritage, and they do NOT pronounce it ay-LEH-na.

It is funny when non native speakers of Spanish try to teach us natives lessons on how to pronounce our language. I'm not a Mexican living in the US but a Spaniard living in Spain so I have a "slight" idea of how to speak Spanish.

In Spanish this name is NOT pronunced ay-Lay-nuh but eh-leh-nah. It really bugs me when Americans pronounced this name ay-Lay-nuh and INSIST that it's the correct pronunciation. If this name where to be pronounced ay-LAY-nuh in Spanish then it would be spelled Eileina, so please pronounce it the right way!

The Spanish princess Elena of Bourbon and Greece, daughter of the king of Spain Juan Carlos I.

Helen means Greek Woman, from "ÅëëçíéêÜ" "ellinika" "elenika" "eleni" "elena".

Elena Baguci is a Rumanian top model.

This is the name of one of the members of the Russian band TaTu.

My little sister has this name. I really love it, and think it's so cute and fits her perfectly. We say it e-LAY-na. Her nicknames are Lanes, Lainza, Lainzy Banes, Banes and Bainzy Boo. (I tried to spell them like we say them)

I prefer this spelling as an alternative to the other spelling Eleanor.

Elena is not Eleanor but the Spanish for Ellen. Leonor is Spanish for Eleanor. And please people get it: the Spanish pronunciation is eh-LEH-nah.

My name is Elena and my parents have always said it as E-Lee-Na. And to tell you the truth. I have never liked it.

Elena is the girl in the film 'Zorro'. =]

A girl at my school's name is Elena and she pronounces it El-eh-na.

Elena is one of the Turks, an elite group of warriors who serve under Shinra in Final Fantasy VII.

This is the real name of the Russian model Vlada Roslyakova. She changed her name when she began modeling to avoid being confused with Elena Rosenkova, another model. "Vlada" comes from her father's name, Vladimir. She is signed with Women management and has appeared in many prominent high fashions ads and shows.

Also a feminine name in Slovenia.

I think this is the prettiest spelling for ah-LAY-nah.

My name is Elena pronounced E Lee Na. I think it is a very beautiful name. There's not many people out here in Louisiana with it.

Elena is also the Slovak form. Name Day: 18th August.

I am Iranian and my name is Elena (eh-leh-naa). I love my name for its really lovely pronunciation. I read somewhere it means peculiar.

It's such a beautiful name, that it's a pity there aren't more people called this. I just love the pronunciation ah-LAY-nah.

My name is really spelt 'Eleanor' but I like this spelling much more because it just looks so much nicer when you write it and it doesn't look as old fashioned as 'Eleanor'. Also, it bugs me when people say my name like El-eh-nor because it sounds way too formal. Pronouncing it El-eh-na or El-eh-nuh just sounds so much better!

This is my name and everyone always pronounces it UH-lay-na, which I hate. Personally I think it should be pronounced the way it was meant, Eh-leh-na.

Gorgeous name. I have a niece named Alanna, so it'd probably be too weird and similar to have cousins Elena and Alanna.

Elena, is the deceased grandmother of Gerard & Mikey Way, current band members of the awesome band My Chemical Romance. She is best known for the song they deticated to her, Helena.

I like the name Elena. My aunty is called Elena and she hates it when people prounce her name like Eleanor.

My name is Elena. I'm definitely proud of it. It means bright, or light of God.

You can pronounce it however you want, but the real pronunciation is e-leh-na. I mean c'mon, please, people, get it right.

Part of my mom's name is Elena. Her full name is Maria Elena. I think that's a pretty name, and some people call her Maria and some call her Lena. I think it's pretty cool to have two names. =]

Elena is the name of a main character in VAMPIRE DIARIES by L.J. Smith.

The Italian pronunciation is not e-LE-nah, but E-le-nah! [noted -ed]

In Italy Elena is an ageless name since at least the second half of the 19th century. It was the most popular in Rome in 1901, but since then it was always rather common without becoming really overused nor underused. It is equally common among old ladies, middle-aged women, girls and babies. Still nowadays, it ranks 16th in the most popular names in Italy in 2004 and 15th in 2006. Almost a miracle.

I'm not sure why anyone would look at the name Elena and pronounce the le as "lay". I've always heard it as "leh", and that makes sense to me. When I named one of my daughters my own variation of this name, I wanted it pronounced "ee-LAY-nah", so I spelled it Elaina.

Well, my name is Elena and I am Serbian so I was named after my great grandmother, Jelena (Ye-LEH-na) I pronounce my name E-LAY-nuh or just uh-LAY-nuh I find this the prettiest way to pronounce the name. I am frequently called Eh-LEH-na which I hate because personally I think it sounds kind of ugly.

In Croatia this name can be pronounced in 2 ways: el-LENN-ah or EL-en-ah. I love both of them.

It's not so common in Croatia, but I know one girl with this beautiful name. I also know a girl from Macedonia with this name. Too bad it rhymes with my name (like most of the names I like: Elena pronounced EL-len-ah or el-LENN-ah, Lena LENN-ah, Helena hell-EN-ah, Alena AH-lenn-ah) so I can't give it to my child.

I like this name a lot. I pronounce it El-Lain-Uh.

My name is Elena and I pronounce it as ah-LEEN-nah (Aleena). I hate when people mispronounce it as Ah-lay-na or Eh-ley-na (Spanish). I'm African American and my ancestors are Native American descent as well as African American. My name is beautiful and it means shinning light, light of God and Bright.

Elena is the name of the character from Vampire Diaries, who was supposed to be a blonde in the book series.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna Romanov (1784-1803), second daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia.

It's a popular girls name in Croatia too. [noted -ed]

Elena Dementieva is a Russian tennis player who won gold at the Beijing Olympics and has been runner up in several Grand Slams.

I think Elena is a very beautiful name.

While yes, I agree that it is a decently beautiful name... I find it quite overrated. With the surge of Alaina/Elayna/Elana/etc, this title gets seemingly lost and dulled. The best thing would be for all variation to receive a bit of rest, rekindle beauty.

Unless, of course, you have decided upon this name for ethnic reasons and have a surname to match.

I pronounce Elena the same way as Eleanor, and I like this spelling a lot more.

The English singer Ellie Goulding's full name is Elena Jane Goulding.

This is my favourite name for a girl (right now anyways). It's simply gorgeous.

It really annoys me when English people pronounce my name like Eleanor, the Spanish version of the name Elena is pronounced E-ley-na. I think if people did their research they would see that the names Elena and Eleanor and not connected at all they are completely different names with completely different meanings and origins. The Spanish version of the name Eleanor is Leonor.

Elena Capwell was a murderess on the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara in the 1980s.

I don't understand people who want to pronounce this name the same as Eleanor. They don't even sound alike. There's no "o" or "r" in Elena.

One of my close friend's name is Elena. I think it's simple yet very elegant.

This is one of my best friends names (spelled Elaina though) I think it is so cute...

Elena is sweet and elegant!

I love the name Elena and find it to be very beautiful. I am surprised to find out that so many people pronounce it like 'Eleanor.' It would never occur to me to pronounce these two names the same way.

My name is Elena, and it's pernounced El-En-na, or el-eh-na. Not elaiina. And I hate when old people call me Elener. My name does not have an R in it. I love my name but only if it's pronounced the right way.

Ellie goulding's real name is Elena.

So pretty! It seems like it's seen as mostly a Hispanic name in the US, but I think it would sound good on anyone. However, any other spelling like Alaina or Alayna are just "kre8tiv" and ruin such a beautiful, classic name. Stick to Elena!

Elena Kagan is a Supreme Court Justice.