Elena spelling help

kt&charles · March 2010

i love the name elena. I dont know how to spell it to make it easy to pronounce...

sounds like ah-lane-a

any suggestions?? thanks!

also does colleen sound OK as middle name?

tomkat35728 · March 2010

Maybe Alaina?

j_luvs_r · March 2010

I say stick with the Elena spelling. Most people know how to pronounce it correctly.

barnwife · March 2010

j_luvs_r:
I say stick with the Elena spelling. Most people know how to pronounce it correctly.

Ditto. Elena is my favorite spelling of this name. (Actually, it's on our list of possibilities!) Plus, I think Elena Colleen is pretty!

jiffy-pop · March 2010

Yeah, Elena sounds like Ellen'-a. For uh-lane-uh, really the only phoenetically correct way to spell it would be Alaina(my fave) or Alayna. And I think it sounds great with Colleen!

ETA: Reading back over the responses, Elena also looks like Ah-leen-a but I would never guess Elena is supposed to be pronounced uh-lane-uh.

nycitylove · March 2010

I like Elena the best. Most people will pronounce it correctly. I think Elena Colleen sounds pretty.

3littleladies · March 2010

I prefer the Elena spelling.

And I think Colleen sounds just fine with it.

j_luvs_r · March 2010

Oh, I forgot to comment on the mn. I think Elena Colleen is pretty.

krogers0905 · March 2010

Alaina. Colleen is fine

sunnyday016 · March 2010

Elena. Colleen sounds good as a mn.

Mneme · March 2010

Elena is the most intuitive and familiar. It is very nice with Colleen.

And Ketch · March 2010

Definitely Elena. The majority of people will pronounce it correctly and any other spelling will get misspelled. I have a student named Elena and no one says it any other way. And, Elena Colleen is very pretty!

Katrina_0087 · March 2010

One of my DD's is Alaina so I'm biased. Smile

But i've always thought that the two are pronounced differently. For your pronounciation it would be Alaina.

wife1014 · March 2010

exactly the way you have it! I am probably a bit older than you, but when I was growing up I had several girlfriends named Elena and that is exactly the way they were spelled and pronounced.

and I like it with Colleen.

SDJuneBride08 · March 2010

I love this name and it was my pick if we were having a girl. I was going to spell it Alayna. Great choice!

Em208 · March 2010

yes! this is the same name I want should I have a daughter. I have the opposite problem though, I don't like the "AY" sound that english speakers use (although it is correct as well). I plan on spelling it the same way, so it would be "Audrey Elena". Love love love the name.

mgrulke · March 2010

aliana

jez_girl · March 2010

Elena is el-lane-a. If you want ah-lane-a, you probably want to spell it Alaina/ Alayna. To me there is a definite difference in pronunciation.

MamiJam · March 2010

If you're going for the "ah-lane-ah" I'd do Alaina. I pronounce Elena like "eh-lane-ah" and in Spanish "eh-len-ah". I love Elena, it's on my list but I'm not a big fan Colleen (sorry!)

jennicg27 · March 2010

Love Elena, spelled that way. Love Colleen. Love them together.

RhinoBaby · March 2010

MamiJam:
If you're going for the "ah-lane-ah" I'd do Alaina. I pronounce Elena like "eh-lane-ah" and in Spanish "eh-len-ah".

This.

I grew up w/ a Jewish girl named Elena and it was pronounced it the Spanish way.

MammaMia73 · March 2010

jiffy-pop:

Yeah, Elena sounds like Ellen'-a. For uh-lane-uh, really the only phoenetically correct way to spell it would be Alaina(my fave) or Alayna. And I think it sounds great with Colleen!

ETA: Reading back over the responses, Elena also looks like Ah-leen-a but I would never guess Elena is supposed to be pronounced uh-lane-uh.

I disagree with this 100%. My DD is Elena and it has only been mispronounced by a stranger reading it once! Elena is the traditional spelling of the name. It looks great with Colleen - go for it!!

starlight8323 · March 2010

kt&charles:

i love the name elena. I dont know how to spell it to make it easy to pronounce...

sounds like ah-lane-a

any suggestions?? thanks!

also does colleen sound OK as middle name?

I posted this last night to a girl that was considering "Laney":

What about Alana? That is the traditional spelling, which I like, but you could practically go crazy w/ different spellings. Alanna, Alannah, Alaina, Aalaina, Alaana, Alleynah Allaynuh, Alaynnah... I wouldn't recommend any of these, btw. (ESPECIALLY not Allaynuh. LOL)