How lovely, I prefer Helena pronounced HEL-in-uh as Emmy-Jo said but either way, this is a beautiful, classical appellation. Ps. I have always loved Grace for her simplicity – although I know what everyone means about being overdone.
Love Helena (pronounced HEL-eh-nah) but really am so bored by Grace in the middle spot. There were so many different ways she could have gone! Ah well, I can’t name them all.
My daughter was born Feb 26, 2009. guess what we named her? Helena Grace. We use the Czech pronunciation of Helena (helen-uh, not hell-EE-na as in the Nordic pronunciation) which is the same as how they pronounced Kelly’s baby on E! when announced it. My husband is Czech and all of my children have Czech first names and English middle names. we searched and searched for the perfect name for our little girl, a unique name like her siblings have, and in one fell swoop this chick squashed it. Grr. I’m surprised she didn’t opt for the German pronunciation seeing as her estranged husband is German, but perhaps she did this out of spite! lol
I like it. It’s pretty and distinctive enough without being completely out there or attention-grabby. Grace is a pretty name, but overdone in general. Still it sounds nice in the combo (so long as it’s HEHL-lin-uh – the other option has a lot of long A sounds to me and a slightly off rhythm)… I too wonder how she’s saying it – I take it the emphasis on the 2nd syllable is more common in the US? – I haven’t come across the name in use over here. Definitely, HEHL-in-uh is the standard in the UK. I like how both have a commonality in evoking Greece.
Helena features on my lists but is always vetoed by the other half – it’s a fairly common name in the UK, or it was, and so he has some negative associations with Helenas he’s encountered. Oh well, it’s nice to hear someone else using it!
I agree with everything Julia said – I too usually hate Grace, but here she is rather charming. Though not too fond of the name, I prefer the huh-LAY-nah prn of Helena.. they compliment each other well. Hermes and Helena, wow!
I just realized Hermes and Helena almost sounds like Hermia and Helena, the main female characters in “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I wonder if Ms. Rutherford realized that.
Hooray for Shakespearean names!
I love Helena, but fear having the “hell-” on the front. Teasing and the like.
I’m always interested in virtue names. Why do some seem more popular than others? I’m not sure it’s always about the virtue itself.
I prefer Hope and Faith to Grace; not because of spirituality, but just in regards to sound. I don’t hear much about those two names – are they still in use?
I have the same worry about Helena. In fact, for a little while I had Helena Violet as my favorite combo, but then I realized it sounded just like “hell in a violet.” Sort of the counterpart to William Blake’s “To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower.” Sorry, now I’m being a poetry nerd, but after I realized that I just couldn’t shake the association.
Still, I suppose it’s fitting to balance a name that contains “hell” with a middle name like Grace.
How beautiful! My husband recently added Helena to our girls’ name list. I prefer it pronounced the Shakespearean way (HEL-in-uh). I wonder which way Kelly Rutherford is pronouncing it.
I love the name Helena Grace, but I don’t know if the combination sounds great with the last name Giersch. “Grace” and “Giersch” together are a bit of a mouthful.
I’m pleasantly surprised. I normally have an irrational hatred of Grace, here it sounds rather nice with sweet Helena. Helena Grace. Such a lovely and sweetly old-fashioned choice.
How lovely, I prefer Helena pronounced HEL-in-uh as Emmy-Jo said but either way, this is a beautiful, classical appellation. Ps. I have always loved Grace for her simplicity – although I know what everyone means about being overdone.
Love Helena (pronounced HEL-eh-nah) but really am so bored by Grace in the middle spot. There were so many different ways she could have gone! Ah well, I can’t name them all.
My daughter was born Feb 26, 2009. guess what we named her? Helena Grace. We use the Czech pronunciation of Helena (helen-uh, not hell-EE-na as in the Nordic pronunciation) which is the same as how they pronounced Kelly’s baby on E! when announced it. My husband is Czech and all of my children have Czech first names and English middle names. we searched and searched for the perfect name for our little girl, a unique name like her siblings have, and in one fell swoop this chick squashed it. Grr. I’m surprised she didn’t opt for the German pronunciation seeing as her estranged husband is German, but perhaps she did this out of spite! lol
but it’s such a beautiful name.
Sorry, I meant to say “I like how both kids names have the commonality of evoking Greece.”
I like it. It’s pretty and distinctive enough without being completely out there or attention-grabby. Grace is a pretty name, but overdone in general. Still it sounds nice in the combo (so long as it’s HEHL-lin-uh – the other option has a lot of long A sounds to me and a slightly off rhythm)… I too wonder how she’s saying it – I take it the emphasis on the 2nd syllable is more common in the US? – I haven’t come across the name in use over here. Definitely, HEHL-in-uh is the standard in the UK. I like how both have a commonality in evoking Greece.
Helena features on my lists but is always vetoed by the other half – it’s a fairly common name in the UK, or it was, and so he has some negative associations with Helenas he’s encountered. Oh well, it’s nice to hear someone else using it!
Ooh – a rather lovely choice there!
I agree with everything Julia said – I too usually hate Grace, but here she is rather charming. Though not too fond of the name, I prefer the huh-LAY-nah prn of Helena.. they compliment each other well. Hermes and Helena, wow!
I just realized Hermes and Helena almost sounds like Hermia and Helena, the main female characters in “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I wonder if Ms. Rutherford realized that.
Hooray for Shakespearean names!
I love Helena, but fear having the “hell-” on the front. Teasing and the like.
I’m always interested in virtue names. Why do some seem more popular than others? I’m not sure it’s always about the virtue itself.
I prefer Hope and Faith to Grace; not because of spirituality, but just in regards to sound. I don’t hear much about those two names – are they still in use?
I have the same worry about Helena. In fact, for a little while I had Helena Violet as my favorite combo, but then I realized it sounded just like “hell in a violet.” Sort of the counterpart to William Blake’s “To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower.” Sorry, now I’m being a poetry nerd, but after I realized that I just couldn’t shake the association.
Still, I suppose it’s fitting to balance a name that contains “hell” with a middle name like Grace.
LOL good point!
How beautiful! My husband recently added Helena to our girls’ name list. I prefer it pronounced the Shakespearean way (HEL-in-uh). I wonder which way Kelly Rutherford is pronouncing it.
I love the name Helena Grace, but I don’t know if the combination sounds great with the last name Giersch. “Grace” and “Giersch” together are a bit of a mouthful.
I’m pleasantly surprised. I normally have an irrational hatred of Grace, here it sounds rather nice with sweet Helena. Helena Grace. Such a lovely and sweetly old-fashioned choice.
I’m with you about hating Grace, and I don’t think it’s irrational.
I quite like Helena–as huh-LAY-nuh though–and don’t mind it with Grace. Usually Grace seems trite, here I quite like it.