I was reading our list of girl names to my husband and misread [name_f]Lena[/name_f] ([name_u]Lee[/name_u]-nah) as [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] ([name_m]Len[/name_m]-nah)!
He said- “Oh [name_f]Lenna[/name_f]! I really like that!”
It’s grown on us- and I’ve told a few people about it and had mixed reactions… some not being a fan of the ‘made up’ names.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to see what other people think of the name [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] for a girl. [name_f]Leni[/name_f] ([name_m]Lenny[/name_m]) for short!
I’m not loving it, but for no particular reason. Objectively it works fine - the spelling gets me to the right pronunciation, and rhymes-with-[name_f]Brenna[/name_f] is an easy explanation if it’s unclear to people. I think [name_f]Leni[/name_f] is a sweet nickname. I could probably get on board with it as a nickname for [name_f]Helena[/name_f] or [name_f]Milena[/name_f] or [name_f]Marlena[/name_f] or something.
@carysmarie, in the US everyone pronounces [name_f]Lena[/name_f] as [name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh.
In American English, a double nasal (n or m) turns the vowel into a short vowel: paned (PAIN-d) vs. panned ([name_m]PAN[/name_m]-d) and dimed (DIME-d) vs. dimmed (DIM-d). It has to do with the fact that a silent e turns the vowel into a long vowel, so in order to differentiate from the past tense of, for example, win and wine, you can’t just follow the normal rule of add -d if the word ends in a vowel or -ed if it ends in a consonant (or they’d be the same word). So the rule is to double the nasal and then add -ed, which allows it to keep its original pronunciation.
I pronounce [name_f]Lena[/name_f] as Leh-na and I prefer Leh-na pronunciation. [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] is not made up, it’s just unique spelling with proper pronunciation.
It does sound made-up in a way so I prefer [name_f]Eleni[/name_f] pronounced eh-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-nee, or I think [name_f]Elena[/name_f] eh-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-nah would be nice too.
There’s an Estonian singer called [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] Kuurmaa. I think it’s a pretty name and doesn’t have the same pronunciation ambiguities as [name_f]Lena[/name_f].
I want to like it. I adore [name_f]Leni[/name_f] (said like [name_m]Lenny[/name_m], right?). I have [name_f]Eleni[/name_f] nn [name_f]Leni[/name_f] on my own list. I love both [name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nah and [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nah, but I’ve struggled to get behind [name_m]LEN[/name_m]-nah. It’s pretty and unusual, but I prefer the sound of [name_f]Lina[/name_f] or [name_f]Laina[/name_f] (honestly, I’d use the [name_f]Lena[/name_f] spelling for all three, though. I think the spelling is legitimate for each of those sounds, and it just looks prettiest for me.)
[name_f]Lenna[/name_f] is really sweet! I have to admit, I am much happier to see [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] rather than [name_u]Lennon[/name_u] on a girl.
I like [name_f]Brenna[/name_f], [name_f]Jenna[/name_f], and [name_f]Kenna[/name_f] a lot, so [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] makes sense to me. Very nice!
My name is [name_f]Lena[/name_f] (pronounced [name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh). However, when people see it, they often mispronounce it (usually [name_m]LEN[/name_m]-nah or [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh), even after I correct them. Despite the pronunciation issues, I do love my name. What I am saying though, is that I really think that you could go with [name_f]Lena[/name_f] if you wanted a more traditional spelling and still pronounce it like [name_m]LEN[/name_m]-nah. Otherwise, I think [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] is great! It is pretty and unique, but sounds like how it is spelled so that will help prevent people from mispronouncing it constantly.
I knew a [name_f]Lena[/name_f] whose name was pronounced [name_m]Len[/name_m]-nuh. I prefer the [name_f]Lena[/name_f] spelling, but I suppose with the [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] spelling she would encounter less confusion about the pronunciation you’re going for.
I like the sounds, though I do find the second N unnecessary. As far as I’m aware, [name_f]Lena[/name_f] can be said [name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh, [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh or LEH-nuh and I think once people get used to saying LEH-nuh for your [name_f]Lena[/name_f], all would be well. [name_f]Lena[/name_f] (w/ any of the pronunciations) is sweet.
[name_f]Lenna[/name_f] isn’t too bad, but it does feel like a typo/misspelling. That said though, [name_f]Lenna[/name_f] would be far less likely to have her name mispronounced, so there’s that.
