How to pronounce Lena?

bobbyme · February 2012

I am reading Pandemonium and I am not sure how to pronounce the main character's name.

LAY-na

or

LEE-na

?

HannahO28 · February 2012

I say lee-na but I've also hear leh-nuh

strawberrytree · February 2012

Actually, my first instinct is always LE-na (with a short e), because I know 3 people who pronounce it this way. Second guess would be LEE-na (long e).

MySallyGirl · February 2012

I've always heard it as lee-nuh

Trshirley74 · February 2012

LEE-na for me. I think of Lena Horne the singer from the 30's and 40's.

alliejo725 · February 2012

Intuitively, I'd pronounce it LEE-nuh

bubblegummum · February 2012

LEE-na

Moneypenny424 · February 2012

Lee-na. Every Lena I've known pronounces it that way.

kelly321 · February 2012

I live in Germany and here they pronounce it LAY-nuh. I think that's more logical than LEE-nuh since it's derived from either Helena or Magdalena, neither of which are pronounced with a long e. Having said that, my brother's GF is Lena and pronounces it LEE-nuh. I think that's pretty common in the US.

JillandJeremy · February 2012

Interesting, Kelly - not disagreeing with you, but when I hear/read "Magdalena" I read it/hear it as "Mag-duh-LEE-na", probably because I associate it with the Biblical character Mary Magdalene (long "e" sound).

I think you could safely pronounce it either way, but I think I personally prefer the Lee-na pronunciation.

Matter of preference, I suppose.