Comments for the name 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 '.

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.

The Helena River (pronounced he-LEE-na) is one of the three main rivers in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia.

There's a town/city in Montana called Helena.

"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.

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.

Can be pronounced as he-LAY-na, he-LEE-na or HEL-en-ah.

Helena is the greatest name in the WHOLE world.

Actress Helena Bonham Carter is a famous bearer.

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.

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.

Argh! I can't believe you hate the name Helen-a, that's how you say my name! Take it back, now!

Dutch pronunciation is hay-LAY-nah. [noted -ed]

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! :)

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!

I think Helena is more exciting than Helen, but they're both equally pretty and elegant.

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...

One of Queen Victoria's daughters was named Helena (pronounced Helen-ah).

The Greek singer (winner in Eurovision 2005) Helena Paparizou is a famous bearer.

It means "woman Greek" and in Spanish it is pronounced e-LE-na.

In Sweden, Helena is pronounced "he-LEH-nah", similar but not quite as "he-LAY-na".
[noted -ed]

Saint Helena was the mother of Constantine I.

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.

Helena is a very common name in the Mennonite communities, or was, one or two generations ago.

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").

English should be listed as well. [noted -ed]

Listen to the German pronunciation of Helena here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html.

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.

No offense but I don't like this name, it sounds kind of snooty.

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).

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!

Helena is a very beautiful name in my opinion.

"HEL-en-ah" is lovely, but I like "he-LAY-nah" better; it has a stronger sound.

This makes me think of a bad word.

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.

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!

In the movie Mirrormask, the main character was named Helena.

It is also used in Catalan.

I prefer more Helena than Elena, I find it more beautiful.

I like this name; it seems elegant and strong, yet feminine, too. I like the nickname Nene (pronounced nay-nay).

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'.

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.

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.

Helena is the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Harry Potter book series. She is also known as the Grey Lady.

So much better than Helen. I like it pronounced Hel- Lee- Nuh best.

This is such a beautiful, classic name. (I pronounce it he-LAY-nuh)

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!).

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.

My name is Helena I pronounce it he-LEE-na.

This is a really pretty name. I like it a whole lot better than Helen.

My name :) Pronounced ay-LAY-na in Portuguese (the h is silent).

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.

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.

Helena is such a beautiful and elegant name. I love it to death.

Famous bearers:
Model Helena Houdová
Actress Věra Helena Hrubá-Ralston
Actress Helena Houbalová

Nickel Creek's song Helena is probably one of their best.

Contrary to the pronunciation entry, I've heard Helena pronounced:
HEL-in-a
huh-LEE-Na.

Helena Dvořáková, actress, born 30th January, 1979 in Brno.

Helena is one of the characters of the fighting game series, Dead or Alive. She is the main character of Dead or Alive 4.

Helena Christensen is a Danish model.

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.

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.

Pronouced Ee-le(like cliché)-nuh in Portuguese.

In Croatian: hell-ENN-ah.

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.

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.

Also used in Croatia. [noted -ed]

Whilst I think this is a nice name, I prefer the name Helen. Helena just sounds a bit too Mediterranean for me, personally.

It's a nice name. I'm surprised I've only met one person with it considering it's been on the top 1000 every year in the US, excluding my birth year (1992).

This is such a beautiful and classy name! It should be used more than it is.

A beautiful name, classy and elegant. It's a name that a girl can actually grow up with, and there aren't many names like that around. It also reminds me of Helena Bonham Carter, a favorite actress of mine.

The proper Latvian spelling is Helēna, not Helena. It's probably best to create a separate entry for the Latvian form. [noted -ed]

The names Helena, Lena, Helen, and other variants are usually the pathetic, hopeless, naive characters in literature. My AP English teacher defines these names as the prostitutes of literature.

I rather like this name, despite the awful MCR song. It's one of my favorites, though I don't think I'll be naming my daughter Helena.
I pronounce it "HEL-[]-n[]" (almost HELLNA), "h[]-LAY-n[]" and "h[]-LEEN-[]". Can't decide which I like best. Though, if I ended up preferring the "h[]-LEEN-[]" pronunciation, I'd probably spell it "Halina" which is a bit prettier in my opinion.

Or it could be pronounced HEL-en-a, as in the capital of Montana, and the wife of Ben the Baker from Storykeepers.

That's one of the things I loved about Storykeepers. They knew how to pronounce the name Helena properly.

Pretty and elegant name. I love how natural it sounds, especially when a lot of modern names are a bit sickly or artificial.

This is my best friend's name and I think it's beautiful!
It really suits her. She mostly goes by Hele.

There is the song "Helena Beat" by Foster The People.

The name Helena is very beautiful. It is very soft, gentle, absolutely beautiful and sweet.
Anna and Helena make two beautiful little sisters. :)

Helena Grace is the daughter of American actress Kelly Rutherford and former husband Daniel Giersch.

My friend is called Helena and hers is pronounced "H'Len-ah".
Which I think is prettier than "He-lee-nah" or "H'Lay-Nah".
I think it's a really neat and elegant name and much more exciting than Helen.

Helena Andrenyi is one of the characters of Agatha Christie's famous novel "Murder on the Orient Express".

Helena Cobban is an American writer.

British singer Ellie Goulding's birth name is Helena Jane Goulding.

Ellie goulding's real name is Elena, not Helena.

This is a beautiful name. It's elegant and timeless, not a name that will ever sound out of place or immature.

A friend of mine is a Helena. She pronounces it HEH-luh-nuh. It rhymes with Eleanor. I think this pronunciation is prettier than heh-LEE-nuh and other pronouncations.

Helena is very beautiful, it's sounds so exotic!