View Message

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! :)