The story behind Helena
A Latinate form of Helen, borrowed from Latin Helena.
Other language forms and explanations (6)
Dutch entry
Ultimately from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē).
Finnish entry
From Swedish Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Cognate with English Helen. Doublet of Elina, Helinä, Elena, and Jelena.
German entry
Learned borrowing from Latin Helena.
Polish entry
Learned borrowing from Latin Helena.
Portuguese entry
Learned borrowing from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē).
Hawaiian entry
Borrowed from English Helen.
Pronunciation
Southern-US, especially: /hɛˈliːnə/
Regional pronunciation variants
- English; dialect unspecified: /ˈhɛlənə/
- Dutch: /ɦeːˈleːnaː/
- Finnish: /ˈhelenɑ/
- Finnish: [ˈhe̞le̞nɑ̝]
- German: /ˈhɛlena/
- German: [ˈhɛ.le.na]
- German: [ˈhɛ.lə.na]
- Polish: /xɛˈlɛ.na/
- Portuguese; Brazil: /eˈlẽ.nɐ/
- Portuguese; Portugal: /iˈle.nɐ/
- Hawaiian: /heˈle.na/
- Hawaiian: [hɛˈlɛ.nə]
Popularity
Helena ranked #363 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Helena
Hailama
Borrowed from English Hiram.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Haliaka
Borrowed from English Harriet.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Halyna
From Slavic (Ukrainian Галина (Halyna), etc), from Ancient Greek; Doublet of Halina, Galina, and Galyna.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Hīlāna
a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Helen
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Honora
Medieval variant of Honoria, feminine form of Honorius.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Adria
From Latin Adria, Hadria. Compare Adriatic.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Helena
Æmile
From Latin Aemilius. See also French Émile.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bairbre
From Latin Barbara (name of a legendary saint), feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Cognate with Scottish Gaelic Barabal and…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Baldovino
From Latin Balduinus, from Frankish *Baldawin, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (literally “bold friend”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Helena
Aadolf
From Swedish Adolf, of Germanic origin (from Old High German adal (“noble”) + wolf (“wolf”)). Cognate with English Adolf, Adolph.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends F
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aaron
From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length