Hypothetically (since we don't know gender yet and it's still pretty early)... 
If DH and I have a girl, we are thinking of honoring a beloved grandparent.
Which version of the name "Helen" do you prefer? (Also, please tell me if my pronunciation is way off!)
135 votes
pomelo / 5509 posts
Helena pronounced He-lay-na.
It's one of my favorite girl names but DH says we can never use it since his ex is named Helen. Boo.
pear / 1657 posts
Love Helena! (He-lay-na)
I also knew a little girl whose name was Helene prounounced el-en (she was french)
pomelo / 5228 posts
I voted Helena. There is a woman named Helene in my mom's group and we're still not completely sure if it's "Helen" or "Hell-ene". (She's french if that makes a difference).
pomegranate / 3533 posts
@Mrs.Someone: That is a problem! 
Thanks everyone for the input! It looks like a fairly strong preference for Helena. Now to figure out short "e" vs the long "A" pronunciation...
pomelo / 5607 posts
Helena is on my list! DH has basically vetoed it though. He said he likes it but he likes too many other ones better, since we don't plan to have more than 2 kids.
pomelo / 5258 posts
I like Helen, my grandma's name. Ironically, I didn't like it enough to use it for my LO's name since it didn't flow at all so I used my grandma's maiden name. We are considering it for #2's first name.
pear / 1558 posts
I love the spelling Helene, either pronounced -een or -ayna. I had a distant relative named this & always thought it a very elegant name.
pomegranate / 3375 posts
He-Lay-Na ... It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Plus, you could do Helen for short if you wanted.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
I love Helene - but I live in a French community so it's pronounced similar to Helen... But more of an accent on the second E? Hard to describe !
kiwi / 705 posts
Do you like double names at all? It's pretty common where I grew up in the south and I really like Helen as a double name. My daughter is "Helen Jeanette" which sounds like a mouthful the first couple times you hear it, but comes very naturally to everyone now!
pomegranate / 3533 posts
@JCCovi: That's beautiful! But I feel like DH and I are more likely to shorten LO's name than to use 4-5 syllables on a daily basis...
cantaloupe / 6610 posts
I read it as sounding like Celine (Dion), but with an H. And I like that pronunciation the best:)
pomegranate / 3577 posts
I like Helena...like the capital. (I love the name too! I couldn't get DH on board, but I started a thread at one point about how people generally pronounce Helena. Let me see if I can find it...)
pomegranate / 3577 posts
pomegranate / 3533 posts
@yellowbird: Thanks!
@Espion: Ooh...yes! Thank you very much!
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