I'm with you in that
Helen doesn't appeal to me at all, however, I love
Helena. I've only known one -- we grew up together. She pronounced it he-LAY-na. She was quite pretty, blonde, blue eyed, tall, smart, creative. I don't remember an awful lot about her personality, but she did the name justice. I mainly remember her because of her name, but I think
Helena can represent just about anyone from any walk of life.
Combos:
Helena CharlotteHelena CatherineHelena DaphneHelena FrancesHelena JaneHelena KatherineHelena MadeleineHelena MargaretHelena RoseHelena RosemaryHelena SophiaHelena VictoriaHelena Zoe
One other thing,
Helena was the youngest of a family whose names began with J (
John,
Judith,
Julia,
John IV,
Joseph). She told me once her parents considered naming her
Jelena but decided against that. I thought that was interesting. I suppose the parents felt everyone would mispronounce
Jelena.