Elena
Meaning of Elena
Elena began life in ancient Greece as Helene, a word for “shining light,” and she still walks into every room like sunrise over the Mediterranean. The name glides off the tongue—eh-LAY-nuh in English, eh-LEH-nah in Spanish or Italian—and feels equally at home on a playground in Miami or a plaza in Madrid. History gifts her Saint Helena, who discovered the True Cross, while pop culture sends in novelist Elena Ferrante and Disney’s brave Princess Elena of Avalor. Together they paint a picture of wisdom, courage, and a dash of royal sparkle. Parents clearly feel the glow: Elena has climbed steadily in the U.S., landing just outside the Top 40 for newborn girls in 2024. It is a name that promises warmth, resilience, and a little Mediterranean breeze—perfect for a daughter you hope will light up the world.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as eh-LAY-nuh (/əˈleɪnə/)
Spanish
- Pronunced as eh-LEH-nah (/eˈlena/)
Italian
- Pronunced as eh-LEH-nah (/eˈlɛna/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Elena
| Elena Delle Donne is an American former WNBA star who excelled at Delaware, went second overall to the Chicago Sky in 2013 and led them to the 2014 Finals then guided the Washington Mystics to their first title in 2019. |
| French born Mexican journalist and author Elena Poniatowska, famed for La noche de Tlatelolco, championed the disenfranchised and is regarded as Mexicos grande dame of letters. |
| Elena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist best known for the Neapolitan Novels, whose widely translated books earned her a spot on the Time 100 list in 2016. |
| Elena Cornaro Piscopia - Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was a Venetian philosopher and noblewoman who in 1678 became the first woman to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree and one of the first women awarded a university degree. |
| Elena Bennett - Elena M. Bennett is an American ecosystem ecologist and McGill University professor serving as Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science, honored by the Royal Society of Canada in 2017 and elected to the National Academy of Sciences and awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2022. |
| Elena Anaya is a Spanish actress known for The Skin I Live In and Wonder Woman. |
| Spanish Paralympic runner and Barcelona teacher Elena Congost Mohedano, who has a degenerative vision impairment, competed at five Games, winning the 2016 marathon and taking 1500 m silver in 2012. |
| Elena Fortún - Spanish children's author Elena Fortun, pen name of Maria de la Encarnacion Aragoneses, became famous with Celia, lo que dice in 1929, launching a series now considered Spanish classics. |
| Elena Satine is a Georgian American actress and singer known for Magic City, Revenge, Cowboy Bebop, and roles on superhero shows Smallville, Agents of SHIELD, and The Gifted. |
| Elena Angela Verdugo was an American actress who began acting at age five and built a career spanning six decades across film, radio, and television. |
| Elena Leușteanu - Romanian artistic gymnast Elena Leusteanu-Popescu competed at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics, winning three Olympic bronzes including the nation’s first individual medal in the sport, plus a world bronze and five continental silvers. |
| Elena Mosaner is a Russian born American hypnotherapist, coach, author, and filmmaker who founded Inside Hypnosis and the AlphaMind self hypnosis app, with a private practice in New York City and San Diego. |
| Elena Patron was a Filipina writer who broke ground in male dominated Philippine comics and also wrote novels, poetry, drama, essays, and magazine columns. |
| Elena Guskova is a Russian historian and a member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts. |
