Female first name: Lena

d1234

Hi all,

Has anyone come across the female name "Lena"? What is it the short of? I'm guessing Ellen??

Many thanks,
D

PhilOssophy

Depends on the country.
In Ireland, possibly Helena, in Europe it is often a given 1st name, but can be short for Magdalena, Marolena, etc.

biko

Not so common in Ireland, but common enough in Eastern countries and Scandinavia.

Gillouise

d1234 wrote: »

Hi all,

Has anyone come across the female name "Lena"? What is it the short of? I'm guessing Ellen??

Many thanks,
D

3 Lena's in the family, all originally Helena

Idle Passerby

Short for Helena in my family.

kildarejohn

Does the OP know how it is/was pronounced?
If "Leena" and Irish then probably from Helena.
If "Layna" then possibly from Magdalena etc

d1234

Thanks everyone for all the comments and replies! It's most appreciated!

I remember a cousin of my father pronouncing it as "LEEna".

This woman would have been born in the early 1900's. Large family and some of the children emigrated. I tried looking under Lena for certs etc. but will broaden the search. I know she didn't get married so that's one less avenue to search.

pinkypinky

I have also seen it spelled Elena in Cork.

PhilOssophy

This might be stupid OP but could it be short for Elaine? Would expect not but its possible

SophieLockhart

There are several possibilities really: Ellen would be the most common but Helen, Helena or Elena also. Could even be Eileen.

pinkypinky

And Eleanor.

Historically, in Ireland, all of those names are considered to be the same name. The fact that Latin was the lingua franca of parish registers meant that priests often translated names and if they didn't know the Latin version, they made up something that sounded like it. This accounts for the variation.