Name of the Day: Lena
Is this name a short and sophisticated stand-alone or best reserved as a nickname?
Thanks to JNE for suggesting the lovely Lena as the Name of the Day.
Tina, Gina and Dina all sound like diminutives – and rather dated ones, too. Lena shares their origins as the ending sound of several more formal names. But she has a bit more substance.
Lena’s meaning depends on which name you’ve shortened. A few popular ones are:
- Helena, Elena and Yelena. They’re all related to the Greek Helen, and the meaning is usually given as bright.
- Magdalena evolved from the Bible’s Mary Magdalene. It’s a place name – from Magdala, in ancient Palestine.
- Selena comes from the name of a Greek goddess of the moon.
There’s also Carolina, Angelina, Paulina and potentially a dozen more. The result is that Lena takes on an international flavor. You’ll hear her in Scandinavia, Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as throughout the English, German and Spanish speaking worlds. It’s the name of a river in Siberia and a village in Norway. Name your daughter Lena and she can travel almost anywhere in the Western world without having to repeat her name.
She may have to endure various pronunciations, however. Even in English, LEE nah and LAY nah are equally valid. You might also hear LEN nah.
Variant Lina is less common, but takes the name even farther. It’s heard in Arabic, Hausa, Sanskrit and Swedish.
A handful of Lenas and Linas have distinguished themselves in the arts and pop culture, including:
- Swedish actress Lena Olin has been nominated for an Academy Award, but is probably best known as Sidney Bristow’s not-so-nurturing mom on Alias;
- FOX’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, features Lena Headey as Sarah;
- Lina Cavalieri was an Italian operatic soprano, born Natalina;
- Born Elena, Lena Katina is part of Russian pop duo t.A.T.u.;
- Cuban single-named singer Lena is the granddaughter of popular songstress Elena Burke;
- Fans of Arab pop might recognize Lena Chamamyan, a Syrian singer.
But the most famous Lena is doubtless the award-winning singer, actress and activist Lena Horne. In 1943 she sang “Stormy Weather” in a movie of the same name. We’ve forgotten the flick, but she’s still famous for that song. She was also an important part of the Civil Rights Movement. Horne worked with Eleanor Roosevelt on anti-lynching laws, marched on Washington and refused to perform for segregated audiences on the USO Tour. Thanks to her, Lena can be considered a hero name.
Lena ranked in the US Top 50 every year from 1880 to 1899. While she fell steadily throughout the 20th century, her fortunes have reversed in recent years. In 2007, she was climbing again, and had reached #453.
As parents continue to search for alternatives to Ava and Emma, Lena seems likely to do well as an independent name. There’s something spare and clean about Lena’s sound. Especially when paired with a longer surname, Lena seems like an elegant choice that will wear well on a daughter throughout her life.
Filed under: Music & Lyrics, Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Nicknames | 9 Comments
Tags: Angelina, Carolina, Elena, Helena, Lena, Lina, Magdalena, Natalina, Paulina, Selena, Yelena
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Very Nice! I like Lena very much indeed and would rather run across hordes of Lenas over Avas or even Idas! (I like Lina too, as a nickname for Ottoline & Pomeline) My Pop was a huge Lena Horne fan and I grew up listening to her sing. Found out the rest about her when I was quite a bit older. Hero, indeed!
Lena’s pretty but no softy. Strong, lovely and almost lyrical. I agree, I think she’d stand on her own well (even though I prefer her as a nickname) and age most gracefully!
Lena’s fantastic!
Hmm, see, the most natural pronunciation for me is LEN-nah, that’s the only one I’ve come across in real life, and I don’t like it all that much. I prefer LEE-nah, but it takes some effort for my brain to say it that way. As for LAY-nah, that might be my favorite, but I’ve never heard it before, so it just isn’t working. I don’t know, Lena confuses me for some reason, I’m sure that sounds really ditzy, but, I just can’t wrap my head around it.
This one is a favorite of mine, but the husband remains unconvinced. I love its association with Lena Horne and never really thought of it as a nn… funny that! I like Helena and Magdalena, but there’s no way I’ll be able to convince my husband of those names! I also like the Russian pronunciation (closer to Leh na, but with witha palatalized L), but that’s neither here nor there in the states. I love that you could go anywhere and not have any real trouble with the name (that was a pro on my list for Isadora and a con on my list for Imogen when we were naming Imogen – our girl). I like that it’s short without feeling abrupt and somehow it feels lush and strong and a very womanly name without it being too adult for a baby to pull off.
(Formerly sks, not that I posted that much; I’m a bit of a lurker, but I do love coming to this site every day!
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I like Lena, although it feels slightly incomplete to me, like I want to say Elena. Probably because I was friends with an Elena and knew another girl named Alaina. I also had a friend of a friend named Leni (lay nee), which I like as well, though I’d spell it Laney. But Laney/Leni seems like it has the potential to sound kid-ish on an adult; I would prefer Lane with nn Laney so she could go back to Lane if she wanted.
Lena is a cool NN name, but I would name my child Helena or Yelena and just call her Lena.
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Lena is lovely. (I usually pronounce it LAY-nuh.) It does sound a bit incomplete to me (probably because I have Helena and Magdalena on my long list), but it’s not a name I would ever fault anyone for considering on its own. I like its simplicity, and I think it’s a great choice for parents who need a name that transitions seamlessly across cultures (for example, if the mom is Peruvian and the dad is Iranian, or if they’re both missionaries or international news correspondents or just frequent world travelers).
I really like Lena and all 3 pronounciations are nice.
I would like to suggest Hero for a name of the day, if it has not already been done.
I like Lena, but prefer Lina, and as a nickname. I say LEE-na. I think that it can definitely work as a stand-alone name, but I’m always of the mind that if you can get two lovely names, say, like, Helena and Lena, do it!
I love a name that works across various languages and cultures. I’ve always pronounced it Leena, but actually I like the Layna pronunciation better. Works fine as an independent name, but I’d certainly use a longer version, Helena, Yelena, Elena… and Lena or Leni could be nicknames.