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Elena (Ileana, Ayla)
WDYT of Elena? Pronounced eh-LAY-na. I like eh-LEH-na as well but in my accent it comes out as eh-LAY-na anyhow.I think that it's a stunning name and I keep seeing it on characters in books recently, which just makes me like it even more.The two issues that I have with it though are that it would be too similar to my niece's name, Ella, and that some people may confuse it with Alaina, which I can't stand.I also said at one point that I was going to avoid E names because we have several of them in my family already. Eric, Everett, Ella, Elliott, Emily. And they tend to all get called by each other's names.Would you prefer Elena or Ileana (il-ee-AWN-ah)?
How about Elena or Ayla (AY-la)?Ayla may also be too similar to Ella, plus it's popularity shot up from #670 in 2005 to #264 in 2006, so it's well on it's way to trendiness.Ileana is a name that I just love and think that it's gorgeous. Ayla is cute and I like even more after reading Jean Auel's Earth's Children series.
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How about Eliana? I love it.
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I LOVE Elena! It's feminine and stunning but not cutesy or trendy. I vastly prefer Elena to Ileana and Ayla, neither of which appeal to me at all.Ayla has an extremely trendy sound-- Kayla, Shayla, Tayla, Mikayla, etc. are all very trendy and the AY sound is in so many trendy names. I don't think Ella and Elena are too similar, but I'd ask your sister/brother and see if he/she would mind. I wouldn't confuse it with Alaina but in some accents the names sound identical.
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I think Elena is gorgeous! and it's not too close to Ella.
I prefer Elena to Ileana and Ayla.
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I adore Elena (pronounced eh-LAY-nuh). I started liking it first because it was the MN of a dear family member (Auntie Bea who's full name was Beatrice Elena), and as her mother's FN was Lena I always pronounced it eh-LEE-nuh or ee-LEE-nuh and though I thought that was cute it wasn't until I discovered that Elena could be pronounced eh-LAY-nuh that I started to love it! :)Elena is a bit popular, especially in Hispanic cultures, though it's not as popular as Ella has been. I agree that Elena and Ella are too similar, add to that Elliott and then the other E names it would really be confusing. :(Ileana is a lovely alternative though I prefer the Iliana spelling that I've seen various places. Ayla is also sweet but doesn't quite have the same feel as Elena. There's also several names that have the same sound such as Helena (which I pronounce he-LAY-nuh), Olena (which I guess would be oh-LAY-nuh), or Yelena (which I'd pronounce rather the same yeh-LAY-nuh).
There's also many names ending in Lena (LAY-nuh, or LEE-nuh if you prefer) such as Marlena (mar-LAY-nuh), Shelena (shuh-LAY-nuh or shee-Lay-nuh), or Magdalena too! :)
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I like Elena, and I see it more than Alaina so I dont think it would get too confused with it. Between Elena and Ileana I would choose Ileana, its a name thats been growing on me a lot lately actually and I think it sounds lovely.Between Elena and Ayla I would go with Elena because I like the IE-la prn of Ayla better.-Tate
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I love the name Elena! I think it is very classy and elegant. I don't think it sounds to similar to Ella at all. As far as the not wanting to use an E name goes, I wouldn't worry about it. Elena doesn't sound like any of the E names you mentioned anyway. Ayla is also nice but I much prefer Elena.
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I love the name Ayla! I prefer Aella myself, but that spelling is very cute!
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