Would you consider formal names for Lainey – or Laney? Maybe even Lainie?
The baby name Lainey rocketed into the US Top 100 in 2023. Credit to country singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson, who appeared on smash hit television series Yellowstone.
It’s a new name that feels like an old name.
But when parents try to decide if their baby girl needs a formal name? It’s not always clear what works best.
To be clear: there’s absolutely no need to name your daughter anything other than Lainey. Plenty of good reasons argue for putting the name you plan to use straight on your child’s birth certificate. If you don’t love the formal name, then it’s fine to skip it in favor of the nickname.
But if you’d like to build in some options?
This list of thoughtful suggestions for getting to the name Lainey is for you!
ADELAINE
It’s a subtle twist on Adelaide. It looks almost like Ada with the middle name Laine. But Adelaine is an invention that might work nicely.
ALAINA, ALAYNA, ELAINA, ELENA
One of the most obvious formal names for Lainey. The challenge? The most common spelling, Elena, is visually distinct. A first name like Alaina or Elaina includes more of the logical letters, but it will likely require regular spelling across your daughter’s lifetime.
BLAINE
Laine-with-a-B.
DELANEY
The sound is built right in to this stylish surname choice. It’s an obvious option on this list of formal names for Lainey, though the spelling suggests Laney instead.
ELAINE
A traditional choice from Arthurian legend, Elaine is a perfect way to get to the first name Lainey.
GHISLAINE
Intriguing French rarity Ghislaine might be an obvious choice, but the crimes of Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes cast a long shadow.
HELEN, HELENA, HELAINA
The name Helen is an enduring choice. In Greek mythology, Helen was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda. Paris fell hard for the lovely Helen. Some accounts say he kidnapped her. Others suggest she ran away with him. Either way, it sparked the Trojan War. Helen’s name endures as a classic choice. Ellen is another form, but it doesn’t lend itself to Lainey. Helena is the Latinate form, with at least three distinct pronunciations, one of which might work. And Helaina? That’s a sort of Helen-meets-Alaina compromise.
LAINA, LENA
Lena can be short for lots of longer names. Pronounce it with a long A sound, though, and diminutive Lena can be shortened even more, to Lainey. (Which isn’t shorter at all, but does feel more casual.)
LAINE, LANE
Laine looks familiar and feminine thanks to traditional names like Elaine. Lane, on the other hand, is a surname far more common on lists of boy names. Worth noting: Gilmore Girls gave us a female Lane, Rory’s BFF. Either has potential for a daughter. Just like Rose becomes Rosie, it follows logically that Laine would become Lainey.
LEILANI
We’re all living in Hawaii lately, at least when it comes to naming our daughters. Kehlani, Kailani, Kaylani, Alani, Nahlani, Jaylani, and several more -lani names all rank in the current US Top 1000.
LILIANE, LILLIAN
Any Lillian would logically be Lily, but the letters and sounds for Lainey are almost there, too – especially with the French form, Liliane.
MADELAINE
Another name in the key of Helaina and Adelaine. With so many spellings of Madeline/Madelyn and so on in use, it’s easy to imagine one more fitting right in – especially if it comes with a less-expected nickname than Maddie. This is one of those formal names for Lainey that’s both obvious and rare, though 24 girls were named Madelaine in 2023 alone.
MARJOLAINE
The Latin word maiorana became marjoram, the herb often used in cooking. In French, it became marjolaine. It’s used as a given name in France today, though it was most popular circa 1990. Today it’s a very rare choice that would lend itself to the nickname Lainey. One more herbal fun fact: Marjorie is a re-spelling of the medieval Margery, the English form of Margaret. It, too, is a reference to the herb.
MALANI, MILANI
Probably names inspired by Melanie and Melanie, but with a healthy dose of those Hawaiian -lani names, too.
MELAINA
A Melanie-adjacent name with the right sounds.
MELANIE
With the letters Lanie embedded in this name, it seems like it ought to be an obvious formal name for Lainey. But the sound isn’t quite there, so it’s not a common association.
ROSELAINE
We’re so used to Roseanne and Rosemary. Names like Rosalind and Rosamund aren’t common, but they’re delightful finds in history and literature. But dozens and dozens of Rose- names have been heard over the centuries. Roselaine might be a cousin to Rosalind, a Rose-Elaine smoosh, or even a combination of Rose with any other name ending in -laine.
VIOLAINE
A gorgeous and unexpecting -laine name, Violaine was invented by an early twentieth century French playwright, Paul Claudel. The play was originally titled in 1892 La Jeune Fille Violaine. It’s not clear if Claudel’s inspiration was the name Violante – a French form of Yolanda – or something else. To an American ear this sounds more like a Violet-Lainey mash-up with a few letters dropped.
YOLAINE
Yolanda became Yolande in French, and might’ve evolved to Yolaine from there. It’s slightly middle aged in France now, but might feel fresh to an English-speaking audience.
Would you consider any of these as a formal name for Lainey?
First published on June 1, 2018, this post was revised substantially on February 26, 2025.
The first version of this post was a response to a reader request for #namehelp. They named their daughter Alaina “Lainey” West!
Another vote for Helena. The only person I know IRL with this name pronounces it as you’re planning to. I’m sure it’s mispronounced and misspelled occasionally, but it’s a rare name that doesn’t present at least one of those challenges (even if your name seems foolproof!).
Both Helena and Lainey work well with the older sisters. It’s actually kind of nice that the formal names all end in A – a sweet connection with the older two. I also think Grace is a lovely middle name. It’s so popular for a reason! 🙂
Congratulations on your baby!
Firstly, I love that you found a way to honor two special people in one name! Helena is lovely and I think if it as having two pronouciations but, like any other name with multi ways to pronounce, a quick correction here or there should clarify it. My name (Renee) is miss-spelled all the time and it honestly doesn’t bother me. Lainey works on its own too if you decide Helena just doesn’t feel right. I think Helena-Lainey is a great all encompassing choice and not to get too hung up on the baby shower spelling mistakes. 😉
Middles-
Helena Blythe (means happiness) 🙂
Helena Celeste
Helena Belle
Congrats on your baby girl!!
I love the name Lainey–but it’s a bit too nickname-y on its own for me. It’s nice to have a “grown-up” name to put on your resume.
I think if I were naming a girl with the same namesakes, I’d go with Elena, with the nickname Lainey.
But, my own preferences aside, I absolutely think if you like Helena, you shouldn’t let some spelling/pronunciation woes get you down. It has many variations because it’s so lovely and classic! Most people will figure it out–unless they’re the kind of person who gets everybody’s name wrong! (My name is Rebecca, and people consistently spell it wrong in numerous imaginative ways. I’ve never met a Rebbeca, but I’ve had my name spelled that way multiple times!)
Love both Helena and Lainey! Totally agree that Elena is a great option but if alternative spellings and pronunciations are a problem that name won’t solve it. This I know from personal experience. Lol.
Alaina
Alana
Elana
Elena
Elaina
… and many more!
Agree with Rebecca, go with what you love and just accept that someone somewhere will figure out a way to pronounce/spell it wrong.
Since you are wanting to honor two special people, I def think you should go with Helena and use the Lainey nickname. Or honor them by calling her Elaine Helen, Laine Helen or Lainey Helen.
If you go with Helena, why not use another honor name in the middle? Maybe even your fn, mn or maiden name?
I am going to start this with a little story about myself. I am the oldest of four, the later two being my dad’s from a second marriage. Our names range from my own Arika, my brother Todd, then my dad’s other two Jessica and Cory. The point of me sharing this with you is I think whichever name you pick will work great with her half-sisters Alyssa and Brianna.
As for which name I think you should select, well I personally love the name Helena, but I also love Laine. For the longest time I wanted to use Laine as a middle name should I ever actually have a child. Helena Grace would be an absolutely lovely name for a little girl, even if Grace is a fairly common middle name. I agree with FE that Faith instead of Grace. Helena Faith is amazing.
I like Helena. It may require educating about your preferred pronunciation of Helena and your preferred spelling of Lainey, but that won’t take much time with your circle. The fact that you want to honour a Helen and Elaine, but give her her own name, makes Helena stand out. Bonus is she ‘fits in’ with big sisters (and you! Especially if they’re Ally or Lyssa and Bree! I also love Laine, but I don’t love that it only honours one of the women. The only other option I can think of to honour both is Ellen (not a stretch to Elaine or Helen) but you love Lainey so to me it’s all set! Helena Grace is lovely. I also love Abby’s whimsical suggestions. A cute tie in to her sisters might be Helena Bliss? But maybe her middle name should be all her own! What’s your middle name? Other one-syllable option: Pearl, Clare, Bloom, Jean, Love, Vie, Tate…
My two cents: I agree with Abby on Helena Grace. Grace may be common, but you’re using it as a middle name. Also, it’s true that you will have to spell and pronounce Helena and spell Lainey as well for people. However, if the name(s) is meaningful and special to you, then it’s worth it. I gave my daughter such a name knowing no one would get it. And she did go through a time where it seemed a hassle. Now, as a grown woman, she tells me that she likes her name.
Go with whatever name you like better, as she says. Agree that using a nickname as a name is fine- if that’s what you love. I love Helena, Lainey, laine, and especially Delaney. I have only met 1 Delaney and she was a darling little girl.
I love grace, but everyone has that name. Unless it’s a special meaning I would say choose again.
I really like Helena. I pronounce it like you but i think many Americans default to the helen-a pronunciation. It sounds like she will be called Lainey 97% of the time so i wouldn’t worry too much about that. I think the confusion is more related to the -le- in Helena suddenly becoming an lai- in her nickname. For that reason i might consider just Laney. Sure the e becomes an a but at least you aren’t also adding another letter.
I do like a formal name Laine with the nickname Lainey too. My daughters mn is Lane (family name so we used that spelling)
Helena Claire came to mind if you decide Grace does work (i do agree, it’s become something of a filler middle name which is a bummer because it’s so lovely)
Helena Faith!
Helena honours two important women for you AND sounds good with her sister’s names AND you like it AND it has a nickname you like AND you’ve got cards with her name on it even if they’re not spelt correctly. Your spelling and pronunciation is legitimate and established. People will get it wrong from time to time but it’s easily corrected.
Faith is similar in style, sound and meaning to Grace but a little less expected.
My vote is firmly for Helena – can you tell 🙂