See the results of this poll: Which nn for Helena?
Respondents: 57 (This poll is closed)
- Nell : 23 (40%)
- Leni : 15 (26%)
- Helen : 1 (2%)
- Other : 5 (9%)
- No nn – stick with Helena!: 13 (23%)
My favorite nn is [name_f]Lena[/name_f] but i also adore [name_f]Nell[/name_f]. Maybe [name_f]Nina[/name_f]?
But if a nickname doesnt seem to stick, i dont think [name_f]Helena[/name_f] needs to have a nickname.
My favourites are [name_f]Leni[/name_f]/[name_f]Lena[/name_f]/[name_f]Helen[/name_f] (sorry for not helping, lol) In your case, though, I’ll stick with just [name_f]Helena[/name_f] (beautiful name, btw! :)) and wait and see if there’s a nickname sticking one day or not. No need to insist.
I love the name [name_f]Helen[/name_f], but I’m not sure it feels natural as a nickname (for me).
I also love [name_f]Nell[/name_f], so I voted for that.
I like [name_f]Leni[/name_f] a lot, but I do associate it quite strongly with [name_f]Leni[/name_f] Riefenstahl (which ruins it a bit for me).
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you pronounce [name_f]Helena[/name_f] hel-EY-nuh or HEL-en-uh (or some other way)?
I love the name [name_f]Helen[/name_f], but I’m not sure it feels natural as a nickname (for me).
I also love [name_f]Nell[/name_f], so I voted for that.
If I had a [name_f]Helena[/name_f] ([name_f]Nell[/name_f]) [name_f]Nora[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f], I imagine I’d probably end up calling her [name_u]Nelly[/name_u]-nor/[name_u]Nelly[/name_u]-nora or [name_f]Nella[/name_f]-nor/[name_f]Nella[/name_f]-nora (rhymes with [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Eleanora[/name_f] for me) quite a bit, sometimes [name_f]Nella[/name_f]-[name_f]Nora[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f]. I like the name [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], though. If you don’t then that sort of nickname probably won’t work for you.
I like [name_f]Leni[/name_f], but I associate it quite strongly with [name_f]Leni[/name_f] Riefenstahl (which ruins it a bit for me).
If no nickname seems right, I think Helena is a lovely name that doesn’t really need a nickname. Perhaps one will evolve naturally when she’s older.
Out of interest, do you pronounce [name_f]Helena[/name_f] hel-EY-nuh or HEL-en-uh (or some other way)?
We pronounce it HEL-en-uh, so nn [name_f]Helen[/name_f] seems pretty natural. I knew when we gave her this name pronunciation might be an issue since there are several, but I had no idea what a problem it would be. Many friends/family continue to mispronounce even after several corrections!
Thanks so much for the feedback! Your suggestions are so sweet, I’ll give them a try!
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] is a gorgeous name! I voted for just calling her that. I was going to suggest [name_u]Lane[/name_u] (I would pronounce it hel-AY-nuh) but since you pronounce it HEL-en-uh that doesn’t really make sense. [name_f]Nell[/name_f] would be cute. [name_f]Elle[/name_f] is also possible!
Wow, I’m surprised it’s that difficult for your friends and family. I guess that’s where a nickname could help, but hopefully they’ll get it right eventually.
I didn’t meant that [name_f]Helen[/name_f]'s not a natural nickname for [name_f]Helena[/name_f], exactly, more that it doesn’t feel like a nickname to me - something about it being a full name alternative to [name_f]Helena[/name_f] in it’s own right. I’d probably feel the same about [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. It’s not wrong or bad, it’s just not what would naturally emerge as a nickname (for me). I do like it a lot as a name, though, and using it occasionally it might help nudge your family/friends toward the right pronunciation.
I don’t think anyone’s suggested [name_f]Henny[/name_f]/[name_f]Henna[/name_f], [name_m]Lenny[/name_m] or [name_f]Hella[/name_f], so I’ll add them as suggestions (though my heart belongs to [name_f]Nell[/name_f])
Honestly, I don’t like the name [name_f]Helena[/name_f] but I love the name [name_f]Nell[/name_f]!
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_f]Nora[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f] is gorgeous! I used to know a family who had a daughter named [name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] (who also had a triplet named [name_f]Nora[/name_f], weirdly enough!), and they called her [name_f]Hattie[/name_f], as a combination smoosh of her FN and MN (they did the same with [name_f]Nora[/name_f], who is [name_f]Nora[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f]–Novi/Novie/Novy). Which I think is rather clever. 
[name_f]Leni[/name_f] got my vote, mainly because I [name_f]ADORE[/name_f] [name_f]Leni[/name_f]! But I also [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Lena[/name_f] for [name_f]Helena[/name_f]. There used to be another [name_u]Berry[/name_u] who had a daughter named [name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] nn [name_f]Lena[/name_f], which I still adore to this day. [name_f]Helena[/name_f] nn [name_f]Lena[/name_f] seems so natural and intuitive to me, despite the varied pronunciations of [name_f]Helena[/name_f]. 
Good luck!
I love [name_f]Nell[/name_f], but I don’t think you should force a nickname. Sometimes they just don’t fit! And sometimes the best nicknames have nothing to do with your name, and they come from habits or family stories, etc.
I have a longer name and have been called by several nicknames, and that feels best (though I love my name, the long version feels very formal to me) but I know a couple of women with the same name who just always fit more into the full-length name.
My favourite is definitely [name_f]Lena[/name_f]!
I voted for [name_f]Leni[/name_f], but I love the nickname [name_f]Nell[/name_f] and after thinking about it I am starting to prefer it! Both are great nicknames in my opinion
I think part of the problem is that even though we’re from the US, we’re currently living in a part of Europe where [name_f]Helena[/name_f] is pronounced heh-LEH-nuh, so even when I clearly introduce her as HEH-leh-nuh, people repeat it back as the former. Hopefully this will be less of a problem when we return to the US later this year 
I see what you mean about using [name_f]Helen[/name_f] as a nickname since it is a standalone name…strangely though, of the options so far, this one seems the most natural to me. Maybe because I had a very hard time choosing between [name_f]Helen[/name_f] and [name_f]Helena[/name_f] to begin with, so I’m trying to have the best of both worlds
Thanks!! [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Kate[/name_f] are both honor names – we got lucky that they are both lovely names too! I think there must be something that ties these names together, a week after we named our daughter this, a stranger on the street stopped to chat about babies and we were floored when she introduced her daughter as [name_f]Nora[/name_f]-[name_f]Kate[/name_f]! I had never heard these names together before. [name_f]Serendipity[/name_f] I guess [name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] is also lovely! I really like [name_f]Lena[/name_f], but just doesn’t come naturally to me. [name_f]Hattie[/name_f] is adorable! Hmmmm…
oooooh, I really like [name_u]Lane[/name_u]! [name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Elle[/name_f] too, but is super common in our area. Thanks!
Very true – may very well stick with [name_f]Helena[/name_f] in the end