pronunciation of Eleanor/Elena etc.

I been wondering about this for a while, personally I would pronounce both names the same: as ell-eh-na (ellen-a). [name_m]How[/name_m] would you pronounce them? Also, would you pronounce [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] any differently? (I would probably pronounce it as ell-eh-nor)

I say them like :

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] – el-ah-nor

[name_f]Elena[/name_f] – eh-len-ah (like ellen-ah). I say it this way because in Greek, [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is a pet form of [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and so is pronounced ellen-ah. eh-lay-nah is also correct if you’re going for spanish.

Elinor – eh-lih-nor

I’d pronounce them like this:
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] -> [name_f]EL[/name_f]-ə-nawr
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] -> [name_f]EL[/name_f]-E-nawr
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] -> e-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nah

*I did both [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] because you used one in the title and one in the OP.

I would pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] roughly the same, as both the ‘ea’ and ‘i’ would be given a short vowel sound that aren’t that distinguishable in this case. I also think that most people would pronounce them identically:

[name_f]El[/name_f]-eh-nawr

[name_f]Elena[/name_f]: Eh-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-uh or eh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na are both legitimate. I’m familiar with both ways so if I saw this name I’d probably ask the person which way they say it. If you prefer the second prn then I would suggest [name_f]Elayna[/name_f] or [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] as alternative spellings.

I say [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] either [name_f]El[/name_f]-eh-[name_f]NOR[/name_f] or [name_f]EL[/name_f]-eh-nuh but I say [name_f]Elena[/name_f] [name_f]El[/name_f]-AY-nuh

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] = el-eh-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] = ellen-ah (some cultures do pronounce the second syllable as “ay” and that’s acceptable too)

To me [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is " A-lay-na". And [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] could definitely be pronounced the same way.

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is usually pronounced el-en-or. As [name_f]Nora[/name_f] is a common nn for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], I think that the final “[name_f]Nor[/name_f]” is usually pronounced. If I saw [name_f]Elena[/name_f], I would assume el-ay-na, but I could also picture el-en-a.

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] are both ell-eh-nor for me.
I’m never sure how to say [name_f]Elena[/name_f]. I’ve heard ell-len-a, ell-lay-na, and ell-leen-a before.

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]- el- [name_m]AH[/name_m]- nor
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]- EE- lay- na

[name_f]Elena[/name_f] - Eh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-[name_m]Nuh[/name_m] or Eh-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]-[name_m]Ah[/name_m] (depends how they pronounce it themselves! :slight_smile:
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] - [name_f]El[/name_f]-[name_m]AH[/name_m]-[name_f]Nor[/name_f]

I would pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] like [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-err and [name_f]Elena[/name_f] as E-lay-na

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Elinor[/name_f]: somewhere between ‘ella-nor’ and ‘el-ih-nor’. The ‘nor’ is definitely present though.

I totally get this issue over here though as [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is often pronounced ‘ellen-a’. I personally can’t fathom how or why as if you ask the same people to say [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f] they say ‘ella-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]-a’, so they can clearly see the ‘nor’ bit of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] but choose to ignore it? I dunno, lol.

[name_f]Elena[/name_f]: This is ‘ellen-a’ to me. But it could equally be ‘eh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na’.