What a difference an “a” makes! Helen is your 60-something great aunt. Attach an extra vowel, and the name becomes vibrant and current, without sacrificing an ounce of classic style.
Thanks to Another for suggesting the bright – and timely – Helena for today’s Name of the Day.
Actress Helena Bonham Carter – perhaps the best known bearer of the name in recent years – has recently revealed that she named her daughter Nell, in honor of the many Helens in her family.
Odds are that many of us have a Helen or three on our tree, too, or perhaps one of the related names – Helena, Ellen, Elaine, Elena and the distinct-but-still-sometimes-linked Eleanor and Eileen. The cluster of names is related to Helene, a given name of Greek origin that is likely a feminization of Helenos, “bright one” or “torch.” The form may have been influenced by Selene, the goddess of the moon.
Eileen is sometimes said to be the Gaelic version of Helen; it’s been used as such, but has older roots. Eleanor was coined for the 12th century Eleanor of Aquitaine, who bore the same name as her mother, Aenor. Some references to the third century Saint Helena refer to her as Saint Eleanor – even though the name didn’t exist in her time.
Helen’s roots are ancient. Euripides penned Helen in the 5th century BC, telling of the beautiful daughter of Zeus and the mortal Leda. Her face would launch 1000 ships – otherwise known as the Trojan War.
Whether the given name was common throughout the next few hundred years is difficult to say, but there is a Queen Helena of Adiabene in Mesopotmia around the year 30. And the name Helena was worn by a woman of humble birth who went on to become the mother of Constantine, the Roman Emperor famed for ending the Diocletian persecutions and declaring religious toleration in the 300s.
St. Helena inspired many parents throughout the following centuries. Geoffrey of Monmouth, that 12th century popularizer of Arthurian legend, claimed Helena for England. This is probably pure fancy, but it led to many girls called Ellen – the popular Anglicization of the name in Medieval England.
English parents embraced Helen sometime after the Renaissance. Whether that’s due to increased reading of the classics, or simply a change in use, we’re not certain. Helena was preserved, more or less intact, throughout Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltics and German-speaking regions. It’s also the form chosen by Shakespeare for one of the young lovers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, lending Helena some literary cachet.
The name became undeniably regal when Queen Victoria bestowed the moniker on one of her nine, Helena Augusta Victoria.
Variant pronunciations abound. There’s HEL en ah, he LEN ah, he LEE nah and he LAY nah. We’re partial to the last because of the possible nickname Laney – but that also raises the possibility of confusion with Elena, an Italian and Spanish variant.
As for popularity, Helena has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 1880, with the exception of 1992. She’s been obscure for much of the late 20th century, but began climbing in 1993. Today she stands at a comfortable #535 – not trendy, but current.
If your goal is a name that will wear well abroad, Helena ranks #56 in Spain, #117 in Belgium and #89 in Norway, as well as appearing with some frequency in Sweden, the UK and Canada.
You’ll also find Helena on the map, from the capital of Montana to a volcanic island in the South Atlantic.
Helena even has a surprising edge. In 1993, Jennifer Lynch directed the controversial romance Boxing Helena. Punk band The Misfits recorded the song Helena about this gory tale of love gone wrong.
The result is a name that is undeniably ancient but perfectly at home in the 21st century. Choose your literary, historic, legendary, religious or alternative inspiration for the name, settle on a pronunciation and enjoy – this is one that will wear well throughout the years.
Love it! Thanks, Verity!
My parents live in rural Montana, and my dad had a near fatal heart attack in Helena. I admittedly have some negative associations with the name. That aside, I wouldn’t mind meeting a little Helena (said in my family as HEL-en-ah), I just couldn’t bear using it.
As someone with three Aunt Helens, all between 72 & 84, I’m only beginning to appreciate Helena (and Helen). The only thing I dislike about Helena is her multiple pronunciations. Helen-ah is the only pronunciation I like, at all. And I would hate to have her correcting people forever! I think, given the choice, I’d go with the simply glorious Helen and leave Helena for the fluffier folks.
All in all, a gorgeous name, rich with history and warm. Thanks for this one, Another (and Verity!) Helena (and Helen) gets a huge :thumbsup: from me!
I love Helena! I pronounce it Hel-ay-na too; I really love the nickname Laney. lol I’m kinda biased about that though since Laney is also my nickname. (My real name is Amanda and middle name is Lynn. I got Laney from my middle name and I prefer it instead of Amanda. I really hate Amanda, and even worse, Mandy.)
Elena is nice too. I would use Helena or Elena for my kid if they weren’t so close to my nickname.
I love Helena! You’re right, what a different just one little letter makes! Helen is old and dated, but Helena sounds pretty and fresh. My only problem is that there’s so many different pronouciations, I prefer hel-leen-na.
For me the preferred way to pronounce it is HEL-eh-na. I think he-LEE-na is my least favorite.
I’m such a sucker for ancient names that sound modern, so Helena is right up my ally. Realistically, though, the pronunciation issues are a deal breaker for me so I prefer the rarely mispronounced Elena.
I love Helena, though Hel-en-a is the only pronunciation I care for. I scrapped it from my hypothetical dd list for that reason. I prefer the simpler Helen and Ellen lately. I also love the nn Nell(e).
I love Helena, any way it’s pronounced. I would consider He-lay’-na for my daughter, but I don’t even like the nickname Laney.
I’m a big fan of “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” so I’ll take the Shakespearean HEL-en-uh pronunciation over all the rest. I love this name. (I’ve also considered Demetrius and Lysander, but everyone says they’re too weird.)
Well, Demi more was Demetria once upon a time…why can’t you use Demetrius?
Emmy Jo, Demetrius is wonderful (Dmitriy is a HUGE favorite) and Lysander’s been a love of mine for a long time! You wouldn’t any weird comments from me!
My husband’s not a fan of daring boys’ names. I’m still trying to convince him that Julius and Miles are normal enough to use on a child when the time comes; I don’t think I’d have much luck with Demetrius.
Emmy, I know the pain. My husband took my top fifty boy’s name list and narrowed it down to James and William. Good luck! I think you might have better luck with Miles than Julius, although I think I like Julius a bit more.
Wow – a name that is almost universally liked, but without reaching any consensus on pronunciation! Probably why it wouldn’t make my short list – though I’d be charmed to meet a Helena, regardless of how she said her name.
Emmy Jo and Kayt, I think your experience is very, very common. My husband’s tastes are all over the map – he likes Emily for a girl, but was also willing to consider Octavia, Aurelia and Clio. For a boy, though, he was set – we HAD to use his dad’s name, Alexander. No discussion. He was willing to *call* him Alexei, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s still one in a horde of Alex-names.
I console myself with the statistics: In 1907, almost 40% of boys had one of the Top 20 most popular names while just under 29% of girls shared a Top 20 pick. By 1957, those numbers were 43% for boys and 30% for girls. And even in 2007, 16.5% of boys get a Top 20 choice, while just 13% of girls do.
While women’s opportunities may have been more constrained over the years, in terms of naming, it seems like we’ve always been able to imagine a wider range of possible personalities and qualities attached to our daughters. Or maybe there’s some other explanation, but it is a curious – and enduring – fact that the range of acceptable name for girls always seems to be broader.
Helena is pretty, but I absolutely love the sweet and simple Helen!
Helena is definitely on my wildcard list — I pronounce it as Heh-LAY-nah, but HEL-en-ah is nice as well. Helena Bonham Carter is one of my favorite actresses — Especially in Harry Potter! I don’t think anyone else would be able to pull off Bellatrix as well as she does. She’s just amazingly good — An actress you want to love and hate at the same time. And for 43 years old, she looks, at oldest, 38! I have major respect for the woman, even if the names she chose are better as nicknames. (Billy Ray, which only horribly reminds me of Cyrus, would have been lovely as William Raymond, and Nell would have been nice as any longer form: Elena and Eleanor being my favorites, if she didn’t want a little Helena after her.)
This being my name, the multiple pronunciations can be a real pain! I pronounce it he – LEE – nah but annoyingly I always get HEL – en – nah from people who don’t know me. Then again, I know a girl wih the same name as me who has the opposite problem. Other Helenas in my family have resorted to calling themselves the less ambiguous ‘Lena’ after getting tired of correcting people!
I’m heh-LAY-nuh. I just had a stranger tell me on the phone how beautiful my name was after she pronounced it correctly! My name is often mispronounced and misspelled (Helen, Alena, Alana, etc.), but I love it. Thanks, Mom!
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I love all of the pronuciations, especially HEL-en-uh or Hel-EN-uh. The nickname Lenny/Lennie is also great.
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I love, love, love this name!
When I was about 7, I became fascinated by the life of Helen Keller. (don’t ask me why). I thought it was a lovely name, but was even prettier when I tacked on an A. I was so proud of myself for coming up with something so pretty. Years later, when I discovered the name I had “made up” had actually been in existence for quite some time, I was a bit dissapointed. But it hasn’t made me love it any less! 17 years later, I am still enraptured by it!
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