Helena

My name is Helena, and I think the name itself is pretty, light, and elegant, and I DO like it... but it's NEVER pronounced the way I pronounce it (hel-in-uh, like Helen with an A). But everyone says it differently: "hel-ay-nuh", "hel-een-uh", "hel-eh-nuh", "uh-lay-nuh", etc. Substitute teachers taking attendance is my worst nightmare because I have to respond to 12 different pronunciations of my name. It also doesn't really have any good nicknames. So, my advice is: don't give your kid a name that will be pronounced a million different ways, no matter how you choose to say it, it'll get said wrong a million times over, and correcting people is EXHAUSTING.

This is one of my favourite feminine names, it's just so pretty, elegant and versatile, I really like it a lot.

Beautiful and mature name with a good meaning.

This is my chosen name! It's the first one I've stuck with that I love so very dearly. I like that I can have Helen or Hel as nicknames :)

It sounds so FEMININE, CLASSIC, ELEGANT which describes all about this particular name... but many of you guys pronounce HELENA differently than some others... it's commonly pronounced as He Le Nuh..the emphasis on the first e. Which explains why I think this name is classic, yet not overly posh or cutesy. It sounds nice on a teenaged girl and elegant for middle aged women like the names Elizabeth and Catherine/Katherine and Diana etc... also there's a fictional character named Helena Ravenclaw in the Harry Potter Series whom gave Harry Potter vital information regarding Voldemorts Horcrux called Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw in Harry's quest to destroy the remaining Voldemort's horcrux in final series. It has timelessness to me that many names out there simply do not possess. Helen is a nice name TOO. But both Helen and Helena are both equally beautiful, IMHO. I prefer Helena probably because the extra syllable boasts more than anything (seems more…regal?). Helen also makes me think of Helen of Troy and all the tragedy that befell her, and Helen Keller who was American author and disability rights advocate. I think the n in Helena breaks up the Tsunami that is all things ella. All in all, I like BOTH.

Not a fan. Sounds very occultish and old school to me. Cannot see this name at all fitting a nice blonde young lady, sounds like something an old witch would be called.

My instinctive pronunciation is HEL-en-uh, which was ironically what put me off the name for so long despite thinking it pretty. I couldn't get past the "hell" beginning (same with Helen). Recently, however, this barrier has faded for me. Still weighing whether I prefer Helena to Eleanor / Elinor.

OoooOoOo just gorgeous! Helena summons to mind imagery of rich liqueur cherries, gorgeous dusty gothic libraries as well as the wild and wonderful Helena Bonham Carter. This is also a bit like a breath of fresh air on a crisp sunny winter's day.

Very pretty - I love how international this name is!

Pretty and even a bit elegant. I am immediately reminded of the My Chemical Romance song when I hear this name, which was one of my favorite songs for a long time. I prefer it to Helen, too.

Lovely regal simple natural wholesome. What I love about old names like Helena, Josephine, Alice, Eleanor, Jane, Rose etc is they could suit just about anyone. A bikini model, an astronaut, a martial arts instructor, a homeless person, an oil tycoons wife, an influencer, a stay at home mom, a postal lady, an inventor, a nurse, a bird watcher, a genocidal maniac just about anyone.

Mature and somewhat elegant. I prefer 2 syllable girl's names and find 3 syllable ones a bit of an unnecessary mouthful for a name, it's bound to get shortened.

A very rich and womanly name. This name is like a red velvety rose or a luminescent waterlily scintillating in the darkness of night. It's not cute or sweet or refreshing, this name is no Lucy, it is 100% woman.

Helena is classical but not overused, feminine but not too girly. I’ve always really liked it. I prefer the HEL-en-uh pronunciation.

Beautiful, beautiful name. I also love Elena and Eleanor (they can both rhyme the way they're pronounced in England) slightly prefer Helena atm just because of the popularity of El names. I picture Helena on a free-spirited southern European woman (I also think of the magnificent Helena Bonham Carter)

Elegant and free spirited. Not sure why I love this so much considering I’m not a fan of the name Helen. Helena is lovely.

Helena is such a graceful and elegant name, I think Helen is also very pretty! The meaning “Shining light” is just the cherry on the top for this name, everything is just perfect.

The best name in the whole world! I like Helen but Helena is much more refined and not old lady-like. Also I pronounce this name as like Helen with an a, not "He-lay-na" or "He-li-na".

So elegant, womanly and timeless!

I think it is a good name.

At first I didn’t understand why this name was ranked so high because I was pronouncing it like Helen. But I love the pronunciation hel-lay-nuh.

I’m torn between Helena and Elena.

I recently found out my 2nd great grandmother was named Helena Silva. And I'm absolutely in love with this name since then.

I’ve taken this off the list a few times. However, I keep going back to this name and re adding it to our list. I hesitate because I feel it may get mispronounced as well. We like it pronounced Ha lay na. Helena is back on our list so we’ll see.

Super pretty, though I wouldn't use it.

Pretty pronounced “He Lay na”. We are considering this name (nn Laney).

I’ve been wanting to name my daughter Helena grey since I was in 6th grade after the My Chemical Romance song. Also because it sounds sort of similar to Elaine, which is my grandmother’s name :)

I really like this name and its historical roots.
And the meaning is really interesting.

I like this pronounced “Ha Layna”, but feel like this might get mispronounced.

So pretty.

Great name! Classic, good quality! Looks better, more complete than Helen! Just a beautiful, feminine name!

This was on my baby girl list. I'm not sure that I love it though.

So much prettier than Helen.

It's really great.

Much prettier than Helen.

Possibly the best name ever?

Lovely. I also love the song Helena by MCR :).

For some reason this name makes me think of rock singers. The name is quite nice, more timeless than Helen.

I prefer Helen, but I love this too.

I didn't realize there were so many pronunciations for this name. I like having it said like "Helen" but with an A at the end. "Hell-en-uh". I think this name is different in a good way, and I like how old the name is but it still sounds so radiant. I also think of the song (:

I love the name Helena, and it's one of my all time favourites! My grandma's name is Helena, my name was going to be Helena, and then my sister's too, but neither of us ended up being named Helena. Helena is popular for both older ladies and little girls over here, but, a bit sadly, I haven't ever met any little girl named Helena in person, though I know lots of elderly ladies with the name Helena, all or most of them very charming and sweet and kind, just as Helenas should be. I have an impression Helenas always make for awesome grandmas, I know quite a lot of people with grandmothers with the name Helena and they always love them so so much as well as the name Helena haha. Well it's nothing particularly rare to love your grandmother, but, that's just my impression, that Helenas make for lovely and caring, warm grandmothers. I really regret I don't know any Helena below her fifties in person, but maybe I will with time. I'm not planning to have kids, but if I ever would, I think I'd at least consider Helena as a middle name for my daughter. To me, this name is so natural, classic and classy, like aristocratic I'd say, elegant, refined, sophisticated, gentle, incredibly feminine... It's rather youthful in sound, but I know plenty of women that are a living evidence that it ages very well and has some maturity to it. I love how most women with this name, be them real, or literary characters, always seem to be so good-natured, it's almost unnatural. They are idealistic, generous, innocent, sensitive, often a bit shy but when circumstances need it they can be very brave. They are caring for others so that they can easily forget about themselves, dedicated, rather introverted but can be impulsive at times, and very emotional and vulnerable inside. And I think Helenas are often religious women. I imagine a Helena as a beautiful woman, with long, black hair and sapphire eyes, white complexion, very feminine, wearing long dresses, tall, slender, with gentle, but dexterous hands. My favourite pronunciation is he-LE-nah, and it is also the most automatic one for me because I'm Polish and that's the Polish pronunciation. I really love our Polish diminutive Helenka, but I find Lena rather plain and flat. Maybe I could like it more if it wasn't so popular here as a full name. Oh, and I dislike the nickname Hela as well, it doesn't sound even half as classy as Helena does, and as subtle and tender as Helenka. I like Helen, but I think Helena has more gracefulness to it, though the pronunciation he-LAY-nuh somewhat turns me off.

Very pretty. It is much better then Helen and Elena to me, just because it is uncommon. I prefer He-LAY-nuh though. Plus, you can shorten Helena to Lena.

I really love this name. It is classy and elegant and kind of uncommon. Pronounced Hel-Ay-Nuh. Some middle names I think would be nice are Helena Lee, Helena Anne and Helena Lynn. A nice nickname for Helena is Laney. Not to mention it is the name of a beautiful My Chemical Romance song, after lead singer Gerard Way and bassist Mikey Way's grandmother Elena "Helena" Lee Rush.

This was my great-grandmother's name, she was an awesome lady. I never got to meet her, she died about 24 years prior to my birth. I would have loved to meet her and get to know her. She seemed like an incredible lady. I think this name is very pretty, as well.

Helena is so much nicer than Helen!

This is my name. I changed it from HELEN as Helen is very plain. Helena has a beauty to it. Helena Christensen is one of the most beautiful models...

Gorgeous name, but I only like the "heh-LEN-ah" pronunciation.

I adore this name! I named my daughter Helena (prn. H'-LAY-na) Dominique because most baby name books claim that Helena means "light" and Dominique is usually translated as "belonging to, or of, the Lord," so, loosely translated, it means "light of the Lord." The only problem I've really come across is how many people aren't sure how to say it. But the more I say her name, the more I fall in love with it.

Pretty name, but something about it doesn't quite click with me.

The fact that this name has 3 or 4 ambiguous pronunciations drives me crazy! I prefer Helen.

This name is beautiful and classic and so unfortunately overlooked. My friend has a little sister named Helena, and its pronounced ha-LAY-nah, like Elena with an H :)

I adore the name Helena! It's high on my list and I might name my daughter this one day. I like the Dutch pronunciation hay-LAY-nuh the best. Huh-LEE-nuh is fabulous too. For the first pron. A nice nickname is Lainey or even Hayley, for the second I love Lena (LEE-nuh). For Helen-uh, it would be also Lena but said LEN-uh.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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'.

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

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

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!

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.

This makes me think of a bad word.

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

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.

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).

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

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.

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").

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

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! :)

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.

Helena is the greatest name in the WHOLE world.