I am really starting to love this name, but I don’t know if I love, love it. I like the [name]Helen[/name]-ah prn and I like the idea of Helly/Heli for a little one and maybe [name]Lena[/name] as she gets older (I love the NN [name]Lena[/name]).
What do you all think? Middles? I think someone on here has a [name]Helena[/name] [name]Daphne[/name] which makes my heart melt but other suggestions?
Thanks as always!
I love [name]Helena[/name]. I think a lot of people will try to pronounce it as he-lay-nuh though. I think both pronunciations are beautiful. [name]Helena[/name] [name]Catherine[/name] was always my favorite combo.
[name]Love[/name] the helen-a pronunciation. But I agree with what the above poster said - I think many, if not most, people will pronounce it hel-AY-na (which I personally strongly dislike).
[name]Helena[/name]'s in my top 5 currently, pronounced HELLehnuh.
Our last name starts with an H and I love alliteration. That’s probably one reason why I love it. Also my husband’s grandma was [name]Lena[/name] but we don’t want to use [name]Lena[/name] alone. It’s missing something.
I [name]LOVE[/name] nn Heli. Hadn’t even considered those! In fact hadn’t thought about nicknames…
To me it’s timeless, classic, elegant, and feminine. It’s also just kind of unexpected in a way I can’t explain. It’s one of those “hiding in plain sight” names, at least in the US. Everyone knows it, but it’s not common for babies right now. Of course that could change in 5 minutes if the right celebrity picks it.
Only problem I foresee would be pronunciation. There are several ways to pronounce it. A girl would have to get used to correcting people.
Middles:
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Jane[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Fable[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Hero[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Romy[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Pilar[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Lake[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Mercy[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] Angelie
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Faye[/name] <---- love this
Helena Lore
Helena Echo
Helena Lucille
I like [name]Lena[/name] as a nn
I love [name]Helena[/name] nn [name]Lena[/name]. 
I also love [name]Ella[/name] and [name]Leni[/name] for nns. I know someone else on here has a [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name], and I absolutely adored that! If I had gone for [name]Helena[/name] (I was considering it instead of [name]Eleni[/name] for my top 10), I think I’d have done [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] something or other. Possibly [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Lark[/name] or [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Blythe[/name].
I guess I forgot to mention that one of the major hang-ups of the name is there are more than one way to say it. And whether or not the trade off is worth it. I really do love it.
@ashthedreamer - [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] is stunning!
@missusa - you’ve hit the nail on the head! Everyone knows it, but doesn’t use it!
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Daphne[/name] is gorgeous!
My only reservation with [name]Helena[/name] is the “hell” part, but if you like Heli, than run with it!
[name]Helena[/name] was on my final list going to the hospital with my second daughter. I adore the name. I also love the nickname [name]Lena[/name], and I usually dislike nicknames. Oddly, [name]Daphne[/name] was also on my final list with the same daughter. I also liked:
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Maud[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Maeve[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Violet[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] (yes, [name]Elizabeth[/name] is a bit of a “filler” middle name, but I find it lovely and classic)
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Claire[/name]
I think we have similar tastes in names.
My cousin is a [name]Helena[/name] (helen-a). We call her ‘H’ (aitch) for short. I don’t think anyone has ever said her name as ‘hel-ay-na’ but, that might be because people are more familiar with Midsummer [name]Night[/name]'s [name]Dream[/name] over here? I don’t know, lol.
Her middle names are [name]Ruth[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Alexandra[/name].
I love [name]Helena[/name]. I prefer the Heh-lay-nuh pronunciation, but Heh-len-nuh has grown on me a lot over the past few months. I think it is a lovely name and I don’t think the pronunciation issues would be that bad. People are capable of butchering and mispronouncing some very common and well known names anyway. Might as well go with the name you love, so what if you have to correct people occasionally.
I love [name]Helen[/name]-uh but didn’t use it when I realized the pronunciation problems
Hell ay nuh is pretty too, but nowhere near [name]Helen[/name] uh for me!
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Simone[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Calliope[/name]
Your daughters have gorgeous names 
[name]Gretchen[/name] I was thinking about only the other day actually. MN would probably be [name]Elisabeth[/name] anyway, if I followed tradition (third generation [name]Elisabeth[/name] MN here!) but I feel under no pressure to continue if I found something I loved.