Marlena is currently my second favorite name. Marlena Diamond was Lizzy Caplan's character in Cloverfield, and Marlena was also a character in Sara Gruen's bestseller "Water for Elephants".
I like it. It's feminine without sounding ditzy and frilly. It also sounds like the name of a girl who is nice and down to earth. I don't like how Christian it is, though.
I love the name Marlena, it's so gorgeous and pretty and can be shortened to Lena, which I love as well. Also Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is an awesome, recommended book too. Awesome name!
I love this name, so beautiful and sophisticated. I prefer the Mar-LAY-nah spelling, but also like Mar-LEE-nah.
― Anonymous User 6/15/2015
There's a song by The Wallflowers called "Three Marlenas" on their 1996 album Bringing Down the Horse. In the song, the name is pronounced "mar-LAY-na." That's how I've always pronounced it as well. A beautiful name and a beautiful song!
― Anonymous User 2/12/2016
I really like this name for some reason. I would probably use this, even if it was just a middle name.