Variations of Ellen

BananaLettuce

My H and I would like to maybe pick a name that honors his Aunt Ellen who passed away this year just shy of her 102 birthday. We both loved her very much.

The obvious choice would be Eleanor, but my H actually named his best friend's little girl that (before we met of course).

What other names do you think we could use to honor Ellen?

I love Eilidh (my ancestry is Scottish), but know my H won't go for it.

I also love the nn Nellie but don't like it as a stand alone name.

Thoughts and suggestions? TIA!

*edited post title and post for clarity.

emnoahmom

I don't have a suggestion but just wanted to say that I think Ellen is beautiful and sweet, why not just use that?

BananaLettuce

emnoahmom said:

I don't have a suggestion but just wanted to say that I think Ellen is beautiful and sweet, why not just use that?

We've thought about that with the nn Nell or Nellie, but I wasn't sure if it worked. Nell is also a family name on my side.

I love Eleanor, but feel weird using it since H gave it away to his best bud. We rarely see them anymore though.

BananaLettuce

dreadpiratebuttercup said:

I'm not a fan of Ellen, but do like some of the variations.

Helen
Helena
Helene
Elena
Elin

My H really likes Elena, and I like the way it looks but not the way it's pronounced, if that makes sense. I always want to say EE-leen-ah or Eh-leen-ah.

BananaLettuce

dreadpiratebuttercup said:

BananaLettuce said:

dreadpiratebuttercup said:

I'm not a fan of Ellen, but do like some of the variations.

Helen
Helena
Helene
Elena
Elin

My H really likes Elena, and I like the way it looks but not the way it's pronounced, if that makes sense. I always want to say EE-leen-ah or Eh-leen-ah.

I thought it was pronounced that way until a few years ago!

Me, too! I was aggravated at watching the Vampire Diaries because they said "uh-lane-uh." Haha.

LNic5

Ellen, Ella, Ellie, Elle, Eleanor, Elin, Helene/Helena...

SidraJedi

Helen is my favorite variation.

Ladymouse

I love Helene/Helena/Elena.  But... my oldest friend is Alana, basically pronounced the same way.  Ellen is a nice name on its own.

I have a friend Marie Helene, and if you aren't paying attention, it sounds like Mary Ellen.

BananaLettuce

Ladymouse said:

I love Helene/Helena/Elena.  But... my oldest friend is Alana, basically pronounced the same way.  Ellen is a nice name on its own.

I have a friend Marie Helene, and if you aren't paying attention, it sounds like Mary Ellen.

His aunt's name was actually Mary Ellen, but she went by her mn. I'm not really a fan of Mary.

BananaLettuce

What do y'all think of the Swedish Elina (Eh LEEN ah) or the Greek Elene (Eh LEN ee)?

4N6s

Why not just Ellen?..

LNic5

BananaLettuce said:

What do y'all think of the Swedish Elina (Eh LEEN ah) or the Greek Elene (Eh LEN ee)?

I like Elina!!

this decaf life

I really think i you want to honor someone you need to use the actual name. Ellen or move Ellen to the MN.

BananaLettuce

@4N6s‌, Ellen just lacks something for me.

@this decaf life‌, I totally disagree. I don't it's necessary to use the exact name of a person in order for it to honor or be a nod to them.

femmepink

Ellen is a great name and the best of all the "variations" IMO.

I'd go with Ellen nn Nell if you have to have a nn.

DaisyZH

I really like Ellen and Elena but I think my favorite would be Nella.  It's more a variation of Nell, but I've always loved it.

Coconuthead

I like Elin, Elaine, Eleanor, Helen, and Helena. Elina is nice, I think I like it better than Elena.

Elsa1984

I am also in the "if you are going to honor someone, don't alter their actual name" camp. However, I am a fan of also names that have to do with the person that is being honored. Did his grandma have anything that reminds you of her that you could use? Like she had tons of rose bushes, "Rose", she always wore pearls, "Pearl", etc. You could always go that route as well. My grandpa's name was Johannes. Everyone called him John. When we were picking out names, I have tons of cousins named John and the ones that aren't named John, have the middle name John. My husband wanted Johannes, but I wasn't a fan of the name. So we went a different route and picked a name that was still in honor of him, but wasn't his first or middle name (I couldn't even pronounce his middle name). 

Or what about naming her Ellen as her legal name, but calling her "Ellie" until you (or she) decides she wants to be called Ellen?

BananaLettuce

The prob with just using Ellen is it doesn't really go with our other name choices. My H HAS to have the name "Kate" in there, and while Ruby Ellen sounds sweet, he wants Ruby Catherine or Ruby Kate. Catherine Ellen just sounds weird to me, and Kate Ellen lacks something. I'm also not a fan of going by the mn, so Ellen Kate, though very pretty, doesn't appeal to me.

Also, I won't use the nn Ellie (too popular, and it's also the nn his best friend uses for their girl), but like Nellie. I'm just not in love with it.

Sorry. I'm complicated. Haha.

BananaLettuce

So, I just stumbled across a Hebrew name that's  meaning is taken from my favorite Psalm, and it may be similar enough to Ellen to be a way to honor her: Eliora. 

*Eta both are derived from the word "light."

DaisyZH

BananaLettuce said:

So, I just stumbled across a Hebrew name that's  meaning is taken from my favorite Psalm, and it may be similar enough to Ellen to be a way to honor her: Eliora. 

*Eta both are derived from the word "light."

I really like it!  Eliora Kate or Catherine Eliora?

Coconuthead

Eliora is lovely! I've never heard it before but I like it.

jennypolkadots

I love the name Ellen, I would use it just as it is. It is the best variation of itself, for sure! It is sweet, classic, and so underused right now. 

If you really love it, Eleanor is great and I don't think it's a big deal that his friend has a daughter named that if you rarely see them. He should just run it by his friend first and explain why you like it. No one owns a name. 

emnoahmom

Elenora also means "light", and the nn Nora would be sweet. Truthfully, I'm just stalking your thread. I think you have great taste in names and I'm so intrigued to see what you finally decide on.

BananaLettuce

emnoahmom said:

Elenora also means "light", and the nn Nora would be sweet. Truthfully, I'm just stalking your thread. I think you have great taste in names and I'm so intrigued to see what you finally decide on.

Haha. Thanks!

pennypretty

My mother's name is Ellen and she named me after herself (my grandmother Helen named my mother after herself...traditions are fun sometimes) and I think it's so sweet you want to honor your passed relative. My mom took the E and the L and went from there to name me.

Options: Elle, Ella, Elise, Eloise, Elaine, Elaina, you get the idea.

Eleanor is very pretty, it's on my list to continue on the naming your first daughter for yourself tradition in my family. I also like Eva and Evangeline. Also really love Elenora/Nora as pp have mentioned.