I have been thinking about [name]Marlena[/name] lately. I pronounce it as “mahr [name]LAY[/name] nuh”. What do you think about this name?
What are your impressions of a girl named [name]Marlena[/name]? A woman? What does she look like or might do for a living?
As always, thank you so much for your opinions, thoughts and time!!
Its all [name]Day[/name] of Our Lives to me. Nice enough name, but I personally couldn’t get past that connection.
It reminds me of the Wallflowers song. I think it’s pretty.
lol Yeah, I remember that. I’m assuming it won’t be much of an issue in 8 to 10 years… At least that would be my hope.
But good point.
[name]Do[/name] you guys pronounce it as I do?
It’s a beautiful name, and to peers of her generation I’m sure it won’t have any Days of our Lives connotation at all. But all of her teachers will be wondering if [name]Stefano[/name] is still stalking her. As an example, my name is [name]Bridget[/name], and although I hate it for many reasons, it has no pop culture references to me or my peers in the slightest. However everyone my grandmother’s age misspells it as “[name]Brigitte[/name]” and says “oh like [name]Brigitte[/name] [name]Bardot[/name]” with a cheesy french accent. [name]Just[/name] one of the reasons I despise my name. So there are pros and cons to a strong pop culture association that may annoy the kid in the future.
I like the sound of [name]Marlena[/name]. I had this name on my list but spelled it [name]Marlaina[/name] to honor my gradmother, [name]Elaine[/name] “[name]Marie[/name]”. I thought it was a nice combination of her names but it never gets good reactions on the boards.
I picture a dark haired girl/woman. Someone who is pretty and smart. It makes me think of a name a model would have. She could also be a business woman or entrepreneur. Someone who is stylish and knows what is in fashion but isn’t snobby.
I would pronounce it mar-[name]LEE[/name]-nuh
Sorry, but I don’t really like it. It looks like [name]Mar[/name]-[name]LEE[/name]-nuh to me and neither pronunciation really feels pretty or substantial. It remains me of [name]Marly[/name] or [name]Milena[/name], but the combination just doesn’t seem striking to me. Sorry!
Va va voom!
I love it, but prefer [name]Marlene[/name] ("[name]Mar[/name]-LEH-neh") like [name]Marlene[/name] [name]Dietrich[/name]. Subtle difference, just slightly gentler sounds. “Leh” rather than “lay,” “neh” as in “nervous” rather than “nuh” as in “number.”
I love it! But only the [name]Marlene[/name] spelling. Cute on a kid sophisticated on an adult. [name]Marlie[/name], [name]Marla[/name] or [name]Lainey[/name] or [name]Lane[/name] are all nice nns
Yeah, [name]Marlene[/name] is great as well but I would think almost everyone that isn’t familiar with [name]Marlene[/name] [name]Dietrich[/name] would pronounce it as “mar LEEN”.
I’ve also thought about the [name]Marlaina[/name] and Marlayna spellings… But I’m not sure if I like those better than [name]Marlena[/name].
I love it. It’s such a throw back for me to the 60’s. The Four Seasons had a song “[name]Marlena[/name]” that we used to dance to in the gym at lunchtime…“but i still love my [name]Marlena[/name].”
I [name]ADORE[/name] the name [name]Marlena[/name]… except that I prefer the pronunciation “[name]Mar[/name]-leena,” which seems more intuitive to me, given the spelling. The “[name]Mar[/name]-layna” pronunciation is VERY pretty, but it strikes me as a bit less natural and almost contrived. I have daydreamed of naming a daughter [name]Marlena[/name]. Gorgeous name, however you pronounce it!
I think it’s a beautiful name; one of my favorites. I have two friends named [name]Marlena[/name] who are very different! [name]One[/name] is from Mexico, a dark-haired beauty with a quick, witty personality. The other goes by [name]Marli[/name] and I just recently was shocked to find out her “real” name is [name]Marlena[/name] – I told her she should start going by [name]Marlena[/name], it’s so pretty! She is in her mid-20s and her mother got it from the soap opera 
It would constantly mispronounced. I only think of the dog [name]Marley[/name] and me .i can’t imagine it on a child