Comments for the name Lena

Very popular in Germany, pronounced Lay-nah.

Lena is also a nickname for Caroline/Carolina, especially in German. Pronounced either Lay-nuh or Lee-nuh.

This is the name of one of the four main characters in Ann Brashares' series of books 'The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants'.

I love the name Lena! I think that it is very pretty. It is so delicate and sweet sounding.

Lena can also be pronounced LEN-ah and LEE-nah. I personally like LEN-ah best.

I believe that it is supposed to be pronounced LEE-nah, not leh-nah, although I do prefer the latter. *wipes away a tear* mine is spelled the former.

Lena is not "supposed" to be pronounced "lee-na". It is pronounced differently in different countries/languages. Lena is pronounced as "Leh-nah" in Scandinavian and other languages. Lina is pronounced as "Lee-nah".

Two famous actresses are Lena Olin and Lena Nyman. Lena Philipsson is the name of a Swedish pop/schlager singer.

Nobody has mentioned the cartoon character Lena the Hyena. They warn about it in a name book I have, but hopefully that reference is outdated, because it is such a nice name.

Can mean "Temptress" or "Illustrious".

Many people pronounce it LEE-Na but it is supposed to be LEH-NA in which is the original and appropriate pronunciation. Lee-na is LINA not LENA. I like like LAY-NA though but I think LEE-NA sounds wrong and can't stand it.

Lena Horne bears this name. I must agree that LAY-NAH or LEH-NAH sound more appropriate for this lovely name.

I have to say, personally I do not like this name. Because it sounds just too plain or either too bothering. Imagine having a child and calling her 'Lena! (Lee-Nuh) or (Leh-Nuh) at a playground...not too nice. But just my opinion!

Very pretty name, in my opinion. I always thought it was spelled "Lina", however. I daresay I prefer that spelling. But all in all, this name is lovely. A character in Amy Tan's novel, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, bears this name.

Someone once mentioned this name is Greek but it's far from that. In my opinion, it's ok but just because someone has this name doesn't have to pretty. I'd like to name my child this but on the other side, it will expect her to be all pretty, thin and delicate. Name raffles, anyone?

I pronounce it "Lay-nah", the German way. At least, that's how I heard it pronounced on a TV show. Personally, I like it best pronounced like this!

I have always thought Lena was a very pretty name for a girl. I would pronounce it Lee-nuh.

Anybody who lives or grew up in Minnesota or the Dakotas probably knows a thousand or so "Ole and Lena" jokes.

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

My name is Lena, and in my case it's pronounced "LEH-NUH". I believe this is the correct pronunciation. There's only one 'E', it's not Leena or Layna/Lana! But for the most part, it's a very nice name, and I'm not biased by the fact that I have this name.

I've been told that the name Lena originated from Hebrew, and means "illustrious".

Lena was very popular from 1880 to 1910 when its popularity began its decline. It has been in use ever since, just not rating as high on the top 1000 list.

In 'Midnight Bayou' by Nora Roberts, this is a nickname for the main guy's love interest. Her full name is Angelina. She says in the book, ''They call me Lena, 'cause I ain't no angel, cher.''

I think Lena is an absolutely beautiful name. I've only heard of this name twice, Lena Horne, and Lena Kalagaris form "The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants" movie. Lena can also be short for Lenora (I made this up).

My middle name is Lena and I love it! I pronounce it Lee-nuh. I think Lina should be pronounced like Lie-nuh. I think the name Lena goes very good with my first name, Kathryn.

There's a British actress named Lena Headey. (some of the films she appeard in - "Gossip", "Ripley's Game", "The Brothers Grimm", "Imagine Me And You", and the upcoming "300")

My great grandmother was Sicilian, and her name was Niccolina Usemelli, but everyone called her "Lena." I think it's beautiful, and I want to name one of my future daughters "Lena Nicole" in her honor.

"Lena" could be a short form of "Marlena", "Milena", "Miglena", "Elena", "Alena", "Galena".

Lena Grove is a character in William Faulkner's "Light in August".

Lena Katina, of the Russian singing duo t.a.t.u.

Also a girls name in Slovenia.

Lena is also short form of Mahulena.

I think that Lena (leh-NA) is a great nick-name for Helena.

The Lena River is located in Siberian Russia that rises in southern Siberia and flows northward before emptying into the Laptev Sea.

Lena is a twelve-year-old character in the Nicktoons Network TV show Skyland, voiced by Phoebe McAuley and performed by Christelle Ouvrard.

Lena is a very popular name in Germany and pronounced LEH-na or LAY-na (it really depends on how you read phonetic transcriptions but I actually think the people who say it's LEH-na and the ones who say LAY-na actually pronounce it the same and just don't know how to write it down best in phonetics). Lina is pronounced LEE-na. Lana is LAH-na.

This name is sweet and beautiful. I like this name, and it's also very special to me. If I ever have a daughter I'd really consider naming her Lena (I like it pronounced Lee-nuh).

If you want to name your child (Lee-nuh) then spell it Lina. It's either one or the other. Sheesh.

My mom sometimes calls me Lena, pronounced LAY-na, because my full first name is Marlena. I'm known to everyone as Marley, though.

This is my grandmother's name, and I personally have always loved this name! It's sweet and beautiful. :)

Korean pop singer Lena Park is a famous bearer of this name.

As has been pointed out the name is used in various countries and has various pronunciations. It can be LEE nuh, LEN uh, or LAY nuh. None of these are 'wrong'. Mine is pronounced LEE nuh, as in Lena Horne or Lena Olin. In a case where there are multiple acceptable pronunciations, it seems almost rude to tell someone they are pronouncing their own name 'wrong'. Much more polite to simply say, "I prefer the other pronunciation.".

In The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies and books, one of the main friends (the one from Greece) is named Lena.

Lena is a nice old-fashioned choice that can suit women of all ages.

It's pronounced LEN-ah in Germany, and LYEN-ah in Russia. And those are the correct pronunciations. Not LEE-nah or LAY-nah.

In Italian Lena is short for Maddalena which is the equivalent of Maddeleine. [noted -ed]

Also used in Croatia.

Lena was Laura Ingall's cousin in the book "By Shores of Silver Lake" of the Little house on the Prairie series.

We were home visiting family, relatives, and vacationing in Hungary when one night by one of the summer camps at Lake Balaton I heard a little girl say "Lena, I'm going to tell on you to your Dad!" The children were playing tag and one of the children fell (I think it was Lena) and then I heard that. In Hungarian, of course.
Thus, the name is quite popular (and increasingly so) in Hungary, and I remembered thinking what a beautiful name this Lena is! At least pronounced the Hungarian way, with the soft accent on the "e". In Hungarian, there is no "y" sound in the name Lena, like Leyna, no, it's pronounced more delicate than that. I also like the names Iris and Elea. :)

I like this name, but only pronounced Lee-na if it fits the person. My favorite pronunciation, however, is Lay-na. It just sounds prettier to me.

I don't think there is a correct way to pronounce it. My daughter's name is Magdalena so we pronounce it Lay-nuh. There is another little girl in town who's mom is Swiss and they pronounce it the same, but it's not short for anything, but most people seem to pronounce it Lee-nuh.

Lena is the name of a river in Russia.

In the USA the name LENA is usually pronounced as LEE-nah. Of course the way Lena is pronounced in other countries will vary due to the uniqueness of their languages. Also, please be advised that there is also the name LANA, usually pronounced as LAY-nah.

Really in the end, no one is wrong. It all just depends on where you live and what language you speak.

I LOVE this name, and I plan on naming my daughter this (when and if I have one.) While I have heard it pronounced "Lenna," and "Leena" I only liker the latter.

It is such a lovely name on it's own; I'm not too fond of any of the longer versions like Helena, Magdelena...

Lena is a common shortname for Helena in Portugal. [noted -ed]

I know 2. Alright name I guess.