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Helena.

I love timeless, elegant, cheerful Helen and would happily use it IRL. Ellen is all Victorian housemaid to me, and Helena has pronunciation issues and makes Helen more complicated than it needs to be. In spite of a wonderful sister-in-law, I find Elaine pretentious and unappealing.

Replied duplicated

This message was edited 10/14/2023, 8:40 PM

Both are gorgeous for me.

Ellen

I’d opt for sturdy, timeless Helen, though I also love Helena (pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable).

Helen makes me think of a square face, pipey voice, vaguely henlike character. It's strong but seems old and fussy, like Martha or Chloris
Ellen is kinda glum and dated, and makes me think of Degeneres which isn't a very attractive association for some reason.
Helena has 2 pronunciations and I don't love either one... HEL-ena (like the capital of Montana) and heh-Layna.
so, NOTA ... Elena, please? Or Elaine, Elaina

This message was edited 10/14/2023, 6:23 PM

Helen - boring
Ellen - outdated
Helena - classic

Helen! I love this name