Lena or Sara

bird92780

Hi! Another poll for baby girl due next month! DH loves Sara and I'm almost there. However there's already a Sara in my extended family (cousins new wife). I really like Lena/Lina (or spelled Leena, all spellings rhyme with Gina) and my hubby is warming up to it too. Both names are in the top names on the Social Security list from the 1920s, as are the sibling names of Nora and Oliver. Both Sara and Lina have Arabic meanings too (DH is Middle Eastern). Which do you like best? Thanks!

AlyLynn07

Lena is our girl pick if we ever end up having one! Loooove it!

parenthood4

I like Lena or Lina better. Sara is fine, but I just feel like it's not as interesting

benmel31

I like Lena. Sara is just a little too similar to Nora.

Gingermom15

kh1824 said:

I like Lena or Lina better. Sara is fine, but I just feel like it's not as interesting

I'll tell my mom she's boring lol

OP Lena is a good name and I like the spelling better with an E. If it is with an I, I foresee it being pronounced as Line-A, as in Lima bean.
Obviously, I think Sara is good choice as well. I like it with an H, but I'm biased and either way works.

Linsbins

Isn't Lena pronounced lay-nah, like Lena Dunham? Maybe go with Lena. Seems the least likely to be mispronounced.

FreshBakedBrownies

I definitely would think Lena was pronounced Lee-nah, not Lay-nah.

Anyhow, it reminds me of Ole and Lena jokes. I'm not sure if that's a reference everyone would know? I grew up in MN with lots of people with Scandinavian backgrounds.

mvhyde

Leena is our girl pick also. I also like Sarah. I don't think it's boring, but it is a little similar to Nora. Not enough room be confusing, just a little rhyme-y. If you don't mind that then go for Sara/h.

If I saw a name spelled Sara, I might pronounce it 'Sah-rah' but I think most people would get it right.

bird92780

Thanks everyone! We would go with the Sara spelling since our last name is basically a first name that can be spelled with or without and h. That's why we did Nora instead of Norah. Just trying to be consistent.

Lina (or Alina) seems to be a more Arabic version but I'm thinking it might be confusing for some people with pronouciation as sarahgn mentioned. Leena seems pretty common too.

Maybe Leena would be the best spelling so people get it right. Thoughts?

wassuphoes

I do not care for the Leena spelling. I would stick with either Lena or Lina.

bird92780

SS456, I don't know the Ole and Lena jokes. Is that something to worry about? We're near Cincinnati so maybe the jokes aren't common here.

But that leads to a good question - Any other possible teasing/bad nicknames for Leena that I haven't thought about?

SmrBrd2012

I LOVE the name Lena. I've loved it for years and hope I can someday name my daughter that. It's way less common than Sara, although Sara is less common these days too. I would spell it Lena though. Leena just doesn't look as nice to me and reminds me of Leela from Futurama.

jessielynn1

Lena is great. Leena is not.

eileenmcgoo

Lena

CaboBride2015

Definitely Lena, not Leena.

bird92780

Thanks for the feedback! I'll cross off Leena as a spelling option. 

What are your thoughts about Alina?  It means light in Greek and noble in Arabic.  Our last name is 2 syllables and starts with a "H" if that helps. Does Lena or Alina sound better? 

Thanks! 

gonetothesea

bird92780 said:

Thanks for the feedback! I'll cross off Leena as a spelling option. 

What are your thoughts about Alina?  It means light in Greek and noble in Arabic.  Our last name is 2 syllables and starts with a "H" if that helps. Does Lena or Alina sound better? 

Thanks! 

I still like Lena best.

SmrBrd2012

I also still like Lena better. When H and I were discussing girl names and I mentioned Lena, he thought it wasn't good as a stand alone name (I strongly disagreed). With a name like Alina, you could still have the best of both worlds and use Lena as a NN I guess.

LNic5

Definitely Lena!!! Sara is too common/plain to me

MamaWren919

I like Lena much better. Sara is very common, kind of boring. Plus, Sara and Nora are too similar for me.

kerismatic

I voted Lena, but if I were reading her name in a role-call I would have pronounced it Lay-nah.

eliztheforrizz

I would definitely pronounce Lena as Lee-na, and I like it better than Sara.

FreshBakedBrownies

bird92780 said:

SS456, I don't know the Ole and Lena jokes. Is that something to worry about? We're near Cincinnati so maybe the jokes aren't common here.

But that leads to a good question - Any other possible teasing/bad nicknames for Leena that I haven't thought about?

In Ole and Lena jokes, it's usually Ole (the guy) misunderstanding something or doing something stupid. Lena is the smart one in the joke, so I don't think it would be a bad connection.

And I really think Lena is the best spelling!

MixedBerries88

I like Lena as a nn but it does feel like a great fn to me. I know I'm in the minority here but I voted Sara.

bird92780

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions!  I'm definitely leaning toward Lena but I think my hubby still likes Sara better. Maybe we'll wait until we meet her.  

carolyn219

I love classic Biblical names, so Sara/Sarah gets my vote.

AlyssaTernes

My vote is for Sara. I think it is very pretty with your other names. I have a personal negative association with Lena though, so I am biased.

ErinC1014

My daughter's name is Lena.... so that's obviously my pick.  

Knottie97536784

Lena is pretty, and I would definitely spell it that way. Lina looks like it should be said Lin-uh or Line-uh

YouHadMeAtMeatTornado

Seconding everyone who said Sara was boring. And I've been named Sara for 30 years. I was never the only Sara(h) in my class at school or on my team in extracurriculars, and even now in the work force, I find us pretty common. I was Sara E. my entire life until I got married, and now I'm Sara C. Honestly, it's kind of a relief that other nurses, and eventually patients have started referring to me as "Red." (I have crazy bright red hair). It's FINALLY something that sets me apart.

Wow, I'm feeling rambley this morning! I vote Lena. Lena is adorable.

mrspepper05

My daughter's name is Lena, so I'll throw in my two cents. I've never heard the Ole and Lena association and no one has ever said anything about it to us (although she's only 2, so there's still time . . .). I have been surprised by how many people can't pronounce her name. A lot of people say "Lay-nuh" and "Lenn-uh" (short e). I purposely avoided Lina because I thought it'd be mispronounced, but I guess mispronunciation is inevitable. Haha.

bird92780

Thanks, Mrspepper05. That's my husband's main concern about Lena - spelling and prounciation. Sara has 2 different spellings too though.

groovylocks

Sara. 

We can't use it because apparently before he met me, my husband had a Sara(h) fetish and dated about fifty of them. But i really like the name Sara. With no h, btw, good catch

Greco1014

Another Sara here. I don't dislike my name but it's kind of "eh."  My parents always said that it was a cool, unusual name when they picked it, but by the time I was in college I knew about 20 other Sara(h)s so I guess everyone's parents had the same thought. I'd probably go with Lena. 

Of course, I'm not sure how often people are using the name now. So a baby named Sara in 2015 could be the only one in her class, whereas you might find at least one other Lena.