So, a day after ringing in the [name_m]New[/name_m] Year and cheers-ing family to a bright and happy 2015, we found out that we are pregnant! ([name_m]Don[/name_m]'t worry, we toasted with sparkling grape juice because that’s how we roll.) Since I’ve been a name nerd for basically a decade, we already have our names set. If it’s a girl, her name will be [name_f]Elena[/name_f]/[name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. My husband and I are on opposite sides of the fence about spelling, though.
I’m a spelling traditionalist. I prefer the spelling that has history. However, I have to side with him on the one teeny, tiny problem of pronunciation. [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] is pretty straightforward in its pronunciation, which is why he prefers this spelling, but my problem with it is that it isn’t the “correct” spelling. On the other hand, [name_f]Elena[/name_f] can be pronounced a variety of ways based on region and language, and that also leads me to pause. I feel like either way, our little princess will be correcting people her whole life through.
Thoughts? Is [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] still beautiful and elegant?
Also, our last name is three syllables, ends with “burg”, and is very [name_m]German[/name_m], if that influences your preference at all.
We have discussed the exact same scenario! (Although we are not expecting!)
My husband believes that the only way to pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is the way you mentioned, so he has no problem with it!
I do think spelling it [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] will cause nearly zero issues, have you considered that it is a variation of [name_f]Elaine[/name_f]? That could help you feel like it is a genuine name.
I honestly think I prefer [name_f]Elena[/name_f] as well, but the only [name_f]Elena[/name_f] I know pronounces it as [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-uh.
If it helps, I think [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] is much prettier than [name_f]Alayna[/name_f], which I’ve seen before.
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] is one of my favorite names! I pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] and [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] the same, but I know not everyone does. Like you, I prefer [name_f]Elena[/name_f] because it is the traditional spelling and looks slightly more elegant. I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
Elena. It’s far more classic and international and probably looks better with a very German surname. I’m not sure how popular “The Vampire Diaries” still is but the main character is Elena prn. Elaina so people who watch the show might get it right the first time. And when I’m unsure about the pronunciation of a name, I’ll just ask the person. You usually just tell a person your name, anyway and when they ask for the spelling you can easily say “the classic one” or “Helena without the H”. With Elaina you also have Alaina and Aleina and Eleina, and to me they just all look very made up.
I also much prefer Elena with the other names from your signature (which might be future siblings?).
While I prefer the spelling [name_f]Elena[/name_f] (used for a character in one of the Three Investigators series of YA mysteries, & a very positive character, if that has any influence), you may want to use [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] to point out to people how it should be pronounced. Then again, I learned w/my daughter’s name to never underestimate people’s ability to screw up a name. My ex & I chose the spelling K-I-E-R-S-T-E-N specifically to get people to say “[name_m]KEER[/name_m]-stin” rather than “KER-stin,” but we heard “KER-stin” more often than not, & her soccer coach one summer couldn’t stop saying “KRISS-ten.” My ex’s aunt even managed to get “[name_u]KRIS[/name_u]-ta” out of [name_f]Kiersten[/name_f]. So I would say to choose the spelling that you most prefer because some people will mispronounce the name no matter how you spell it.
I love this name, back in the day (10 years ago or more!) I loved the [name_f]Alaina[/name_f] spelling. Now, I prefer the [name_f]Elena[/name_f] spelling. I think the [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] spelling is pretty though too. I think its a great name whatever spelling you go with!
Totally an acceptable spelling to me. I say both [name_f]Elena[/name_f] and [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] the same. [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] might get more spelling issues but you could just say it’s [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] with an ‘a’. If I saw [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] I would think you were honoring an [name_f]Elaine[/name_f].
I really like [name_f]Elena[/name_f]/[name_f]Elaina[/name_f]! It is such an elegant, classy name. But, I have to admit that I would be the one person who would have to ask about the pronunciation of [name_f]Elena[/name_f], and it’s because of my familiarity with the name [name_f]Lena[/name_f] ([name_f]LEEna[/name_f]) I love the look of [name_f]Elena[/name_f] though.
I grew up knowing two Elenas (both pronounced like [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]), so when I look at all the possible ways of spelling the name, [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is the one that looks “right” to me. I don’t think of it as an especially tricky name to pronounce, though I do understand where you and your husband are coming from. And I feel like if an [name_f]Elena[/name_f] or an [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] travels someplace where her name is automatically pronounced differently than it is at home, it’s not a big deal - my name is pronounced differently by people whose first languages aren’t English, and I not-so-secretly love it.
Also, I feel that [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] would be less recognizable to people in other countries than [name_f]Elena[/name_f], and depending where you go, vowels can be used pretty differently, so [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] might be more of a head-scratcher to people internationally than [name_f]Elena[/name_f]. (Re-reading your post, I don’t know if you were referring to traveling internationally or if you meant different regions of your country - apologies if this doesn’t answer your exact question, but either way I think it’s something to consider.)
Overall, I guess I probably could live with an [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] in the big picture, but I really, really wouldn’t want to. I understand why people go for that spelling, but to me the “ain” looks kind of whiny and it negates an elegance that I feel [name_f]Elena[/name_f] has.
Honestly, someone somewhere is always going to mispronounce a name. My name is so unbelievable straight forward you would think it would be nearly impossible to mess up…and yet, someone does all the time. I prefer [name_f]Elena[/name_f] to [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. Like I said, those who will mispronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f], will probably do so with [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. Spell it the way you want, but don’t do so because someone somewhere might mispronounce it–it’ll happen to her eventually, no matter how her name is spelled.
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] is one of my favourites, and I pronounce it just how [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] is spelled. I wouldn’t change the spelling just because you feel you have to to clarify the spelling, as I know a lot of people (and people in this thread too) who pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] like [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. I am not fond of the [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] spelling at all so I can’t not be bias and say ditch [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] and go with [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
I’ve only ever heard Elena pronounced as “Ell-en-uh.” Helena is pronounced as “Hell-en-uh” which would make sense for Elena to be pronounced as “Ell-en-uh.”
Elaina I pronounce as “E-lane-ah” since Laine is pronounced “Lane” (With the e on Laine being silent). Elaine is pronounced “Ee-lane.” Think rain
I love Elaina, I guess because I’ve heard Elena so many times… it is a very common name but it is pretty.
I feel like [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] is a variant of [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] and would actually work better with a -burg surname. [name_f]Elena[/name_f] feels international and flirty. Either spelling seems acceptable to me.
There is an [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] at the school that I teach who constantly deals with being called EE-lay-na and eh-[name_m]LAYN[/name_m]-ah. Point of the story, sometimes people will overly complicate even a simple name. I don’t think that [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] or [name_f]Elena[/name_f] are more difficult than the other.
I only know two Helenas, one in real life and one fictional (Orphan [name_m]Black[/name_m]), and both are heh-[name_m]LAYN[/name_m]-uh. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but [name_f]Helena[/name_f] isn’t exclusively pronounced hell-en-uh.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you have a nickname in mind? I like [name_f]Lainey[/name_f], spelled that way, so I prefer [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. I also agree that [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] would be less prone to pronunciation issues.
