Pronounce Helena?

Girl Names
1

See the results of this poll: How do you pronounce Helena?

Respondents: 74 (This poll is closed)

  • HELL-en-uh : 26 (35%)
  • hell-LAYN-uh : 38 (51%)
  • hell-LEEN-uh : 9 (12%)
  • Other…: 1 (1%)
2

I say HELL-uh-nuh when I read the name, but I wouldn’t be surprised to be corrected as the huh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh pronunciation is equally as popular. I absolutely love the name, but the variant pronunciation thing means that I’m not sure if I could use it.

3

I would say huh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na instinctively, because it’s my favourite pronounciation, but like @ciottolo said, I wouldn’t be surprised to be corrected to HELL-uh-nuh.

4

HELL-ayn-nuh is how I pronounce it. My brother says HELL-uh-nuh.

I think the way I say it sounds a bit prettier than his way. Very nice name.

5

I could see it pronounced multiple different ways, but my absolute favorite is “Hell-[name_f]AYN[/name_f]-uh.”

6

Huh-lay-nuh!

7

I always thought it was huh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh until I heard [name_f]Helena[/name_f] Bonham [name_u]Carter[/name_u]'s pronunciation. I really love how she says HELL-en-uh!

8

Hell-en-uh here, to me it’s my mom’s name ([name_f]Helen[/name_f]) with an A on the end.

I think ‘hell-en-uh’ sounds much nicer than the other two pronunciations.

9

I voted for Hell-AYN-uh because that’s how I instinctively want to say it. I love the nn [name_f]Lena[/name_f] ([name_m]Lay[/name_m]-Nah) from this. However, I also really like the HELL-en-uh version and the nn [name_f]Henna[/name_f]. I think I would definitely decide which nn I liked better because I’m a big nn person.

10

Instinctively I pronounce it huh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh. I go back and forth between that prononciation and HELL-en-uh as my favorites.

11

I said Hel-ay-nuh, my husband said Hel-eena or Hel-en-uh, but once I read the comments, I realised I have also heard [name_f]Helen[/name_f]-uh too (which I don’t mind). My initial response was Hel-Ay-nuh though.

12

I’ve used the first two pronunciations interchangably through the years. As I know no [name_f]Helena[/name_f]'s in everyday life, I go on mentions of the name in media, so, while watching The L Word years ago, it was always [name_f]HELEN[/name_f]-uh, but then since Orphan [name_m]Black[/name_m] started, I’ve automatically gone into saying heh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh. I’ve never used the third pronunciation.

13

Hell-lee-na