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Helena has pronunciation issues. HELina? heLEEna? eLAIna? I much prefer Helen, which is neat and sweet and tidy and classic and which I'd use happily. I'd rather use Nina than Helena. When I was about nine, I thought that Nancy and Nina would be brilliant names for twins - I no longer do! Nancy and Helen would be nicer. Nina seems flimsy now, more like a nickname than an independent name.

Helena. It sounds more formal and more like a full name than Nina.

Nina

Nina, idk because it's cuter

They're both nice, but I prefer Helena.

Helena, by far. It's one of my favourite names.

Nina. It's short, looks fresher.

Helena for sure. Nina I never really liked and always got reminded of the Spanish word for “girl”. And I don’t mind word names especially if it’s of a different language but here it’s not doing it for me. Nina has always felt a bit flimsy and insubstantial.

I prefer Nina because it sounds short and snappy.

Nina. I like how short and snappy it is. It's soft but not to the point of being mushy. To me it fits someone a bit eccentric. Helena by comparison is boring and at the same time over-complicated (I'd still prefer Nina over Helen but not by as much).

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That said I think Helena and Nina would make a great sib-set! I love them together in that context.

Helena by far. Nina is insubstantial and means “little girl” in Spanish. Helena is beautiful and regal while still being accessible.