See the results of this poll: Helena?
Respondents: 70 (This poll is closed)
- HEL-eh-nuh : 38 (54%)
- heh-LAY-nuh: 32 (46%)
I say it with the first!
With the novel in my signature, my main character’s mom is Danish (her name is actually [name_f]Helene[/name_f], which is said, in Danish, very similarly to the second pronunciation). Plus, with my burgeoning interest in Scandinavian culture, to me, [name_f]Helena[/name_f] is the former and [name_f]Helene[/name_f] is the latter. I adore both, but the spelling makes it easier, in my mind, to distinguish. 
[name_f]Helene[/name_f] is probably more of a GP, though, unless it’s a MN, because I feel like every American would say heh-LEEN every. single. time. 
I pronounce it like heh-LEH-nah
I guess I’m in the minority; I pronounce it heh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh. It’s funny though, the only actual [name_f]Helena[/name_f] I’ve ever met pronounced it the other way.
I’m surprised by the responses - I’d only pronounce it hel-AY-nuh or maybe hel-EN-uh! HEL-en-a sounds a bit awkward to me, like [name_f]Helen[/name_f] with an A tacked on awkwardly to the end. But I guess that’s how the capital of [name_u]Montana[/name_u] is pronounced.
I speak some Norwegian and I’m pretty sure [name_f]Helene[/name_f] would be pronounced hel-[name_m]LEN[/name_m] there and [name_f]Helena[/name_f] hel-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-uh. So neither of those two pronunciations. Behind the Name has it pronounced those ways in all the Scandinavian countries: here’s the entries for Helene and Helena. Maybe someone Scandinavian can weigh in!
I say HEL-eh-nuh, because that’s how I’ve heard Helenas say their name (including a current flatmate). But I wouldn’t be surprised by Heh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh, and I actually prefer that pronunciation, but I found Helaina (an apparently legit Ancient Greek version) for that one instead, which is more clear.
I grew up with a girl named [name_f]Helena[/name_f] as in hell-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nah. But HELL-len-ah is the next thing my mind goes too. No matter how it’s pronounced I think it’s pretty.
I pronounce it HEL-eh-nuh. This is my daughter’s name – I knew when I chose it for her I may have to clarify the pronunciation sometimes since there are several common ways to say it, but I did not expect the uphill battle it is! Part of the issue is that even though I am from the US, I am currently living in a part of Europe where this name is common and the pronunciation is Heh-LEH-nah. So even when someone asks her name and I clearly say HEL-eh-nuh, they repeat it back the other way. I’m hoping it will be less of an issue when we return to the US later this year; I do like all of the pronunciations, but HEL-eh-nuh is what I named her 
I generally say he-LEH-nuh/ he-LAY-nuh, because that’s how the people I know with that name pronounce it (I’m Australian).
I’m aware of the HEL-en-uh pronunciation, though (I think Helena Bonham-Carter makes it familiar and I interact with quite a few people from the UK, where the HEL-en-uh pronunciation is more common).
I would usually ask someone how they pronounce it if I saw their name written before I heard it.
I like both pronunciations. I would tend to favour the hel-AY-nuh pronunciation, only because Eleanor is pronounced very similarly to HEL-eh-nuh in my accent (something like EL-eh-naw if people are trying to pronounce the name carefully, but often EL-eh-nuh when people are speaking quickly or a bit lazily), which might cause some confusion. In countries where the ‘r’ in Eleanor is pronounced, this probably wouldn’t be a problem.
I say Heh-[name_m]Lay[/name_m]-Nah, mainly because [name_f]Helena[/name_f] in Orphan [name_m]Black[/name_m] pronounces it that way and thats the first time I’ve actually heard it used, surprisingly.
But I used to pronounce it Hel-eh-nuh in my head before I watched the show so if somebody told me it was pronounced that way I wouldn’t think anything of it.
I say HEL-leh-nuh because I knew someone as a kid that pronounced it that way. I see it as ‘[name_f]Helen[/name_f] with an a on the end’ like another comment said, and very different to [name_f]Elena[/name_f]/[name_f]Eleni[/name_f] despite the common root.
I say it the first way (definitely the default here in the UK), and I absolutely love it! Strangely, I’m not keen at all if it’s pronounced 'heh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh" or “heh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh”. I just think “HEL-eh-nuh” sounds so much cleaner and more sophisticated.
Alright, so interesting to see that the first is clearly the favorite pronunciation here. And to find that it really does depend on where you’re from and who you know. I have never heard the heh-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-uh pronunciation, but I think it is nice. I prefer the first pronunciation myself, but I have a second cousin who pronounces it the second way, so…
Hel-EE-na is how I pronounce it. It’s a co-worker’s name
I say hel-AY-nah like [name_f]Elena[/name_f] but with an ‘h’. Everyone I’ve ever met with the name says it this way! I think it’s much prettier than HEL-eh-nuh but I also don’t like the name [name_f]Helen[/name_f] so that maybe why.
I pronounce it Hel-eh-nuh because of [name_f]Helena[/name_f] Bonham [name_u]Carter[/name_u]. I grew up watching [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] and she played [name_f]Bellatrix[/name_f] so that is why I choose to pronounce it that way.
I pronounce it both ways, but my usual instinct is to say it like [name_f]Elena[/name_f] with an H.
I say it the first way. Sort of like [name_f]Helen[/name_f] with an -uh sound in there. I don’t mind the other pronunciation, this one just seems to be the most natural where I live - [name_u]West[/name_u] Coast of US.