I really like [name]Helen[/name], as already mentioned, it closely related to [name]Ellen[/name]. However, I feel [name]Ellen[/name] is much more accessible, unless you toy with [name]Helen[/name], and say, [name]Helene[/name]/[name]Helena[/name]. [name]Helen[/name] doesn’t feel right yet to me. [name]Ellen[/name] can also become [name]Elena[/name] or some other names like [name]Elaine[/name]. I really like [name]Elaine[/name], but feel it is in limbo with [name]Kathleen[/name] and [name]Janine[/name].
[name]Ellen[/name], to me, seems more classic, and like I said, accessible right now than [name]Helen[/name]. It is like [name]Alice[/name] rather than, say, [name]Katherine[/name] - it hasn’t been “always in fashion.” I like [name]Ellen[/name] quite a bit more than [name]Eleanor[/name], but they are similar in flavor to me, somewhat serious and studious, and if I could pick a nature of a name, they sound generous and helpful.
[name]Ellen[/name] also has sort of the age of a [name]Susan[/name], where I feel [name]Helen[/name] is somewhat older, [name]Eleanor[/name] older still, and [name]Elaine[/name] somewhat newer. As the older names become in fashion, people will want newer old-sounding names, and I think [name]Ellen[/name] borders fashion on the [name]Eleanor[/name] (popular) and [name]Ella[/name] (quite more perky than [name]Eleanor[/name]), and the fashion-forwardness of a name that’s in the wings to be popular in the near future (maybe up to a decade). It seems like when [name]Emily[/name] bounded to the top of the popularity charts, and [name]Emma[/name] took her time, but she arrived - a simpler “take” on [name]Emily[/name]; [name]Ellen[/name] is bound to come up when people feel [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Ella[/name] are somewhat played out.
[name]Diane[/name] - I agree this name doesn’t sound the least bit current, but it’s also very beautiful to me. For fans of [name]Anne[/name] in the other thread by [name]Jill[/name], I think [name]Diane[/name] comes across as that [name]Anne[/name] name you’re looking for with that bit extra. Not an [name]Annabelle[/name] or [name]Juliana[/name], but I think it has that cast of other [name]Anne[/name] names of the past, like [name]Joanne[/name] or [name]Deanna[/name]. I think [name]Diane[/name] is glamorous next to those. I also would like to add that I grew up with an unfashionable old yucky outdated middle name that’s actually beautiful and substantial, which I feel [name]Diane[/name] is as well (not as outdated and yucky as mine!). I do not think middle names have to be gorgeous models of the current taste or whatever anyone else thinks is ripe for exposure. It’s a great place to put a name you love that will most likely be the hit 30 years from now, like a fine wine! I certainly find that strategy appealing for the middle spot if you don’t dare for the first.
As an added bonus, E.D. can be called [name]Edie[/name]. I don’t like [name]Edith[/name], but I think [name]Edie[/name] is cute. For other nicknames for [name]Ellen[/name] - [name]Elle[/name] and [name]Ellie[/name] seem most likely if you leave it to chance. If you want a [name]Nell[/name], call her [name]Nell[/name]. They are all nice. [name]Nell[/name] sets her apart from other Ellies (from [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Eleanor[/name] to [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]Ellery[/name]). I think it’s great. I like a [name]Nell[/name] among Noras and bazillion Ellies.
Who knows, we might not have any girls. 
[name]Just[/name] thinking though…