Elena (given name)

Elena
Pronunciation	Italian: [ˈɛːlena]; Spanish: [eˈlena]
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Greece
Meaning	bright, shining light
Other names
Related names	Ellen, Helen, Helena, Helene

Elena is a popular female given name of Greek origin. The name means "shining light". Nicknames of the name Elena are Lena, Lennie, Ella, Ellie, Nellie, or Nena (less common).^[1]

Other common variants are Alena (German, Czech, Russian, Belarusian, Serbian, Croatian); Alenka (Slovenian); Alyona (Russian); Elene (Georgian); Helen (English); Hélène (French); Helena (Latin, Polish); Eliana (Portuguese); Eline (Dutch, Norwegian, Sranan Tongo); Ileana (Romanian, Italian, Spanish); Ilona (Hungarian, Finnish, Latvian); Olena (Ukrainian); Leena (Finnish); and Elena/Yelena/Jelena (Russian, Serbian, Croatian).^[2]

Notable people

Given name

A–K

Elena Abelson (1904–1993), better known as Tamara Talbot Rice, Russian-English art historian
Elena Altieri, Italian actress
Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
Elena Arzhakova (born 1989), Russian runner who specializes in the middle distance events
Elena Asimakopoulou, Greek model
Elena Baltacha (1983–2014), British tennis player, born in Kyiv
Elena Barulina (1895–1957), Russian Soviet botanist and geneticist, expert on lentils.
Elena Berezhnaya, Russian pair skater
Elena Bogdan (born 1992), Romanian tennis player
Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, (born 1963), Infanta of Spain and Duchess of Lugo
Elena Bovina (born 1983), Russian tennis player
Elena Brambilla (1942–2018), Italian historian
Elena Braverman, Russian, Israeli, and Canadian mathematician
Elena Carapetis, Greek-Australian actress
Elena Carraro (born 2001), Italian hurdler
Elena Ceaușescu (1916–1989), wife of former Romanian head of state Nicolae Ceaușescu
Elena Constantinescu (1925–2005), British nightclub owner and spy
Elena Delle Donne (born 1989), American basketball player
Elena Dementieva (born 1981), Russian former tennis player
Elena Eremina (born 2001), Russian artistic gymnast
Elena Eskina (born 1976), retired Russian field hockey player and umpire
Elena Ferrante (active 1992–present), pseudonymous Italian novelist
Elena Fiore, Italian actress
Elena Gerasimova (born 2004), Russian artistic gymnast
Elena Gheorghe, Romanian singer; known for her hits "The Balkan Girls" and "Disco Romancing"
Elena Goode (born 1983), American actress
Ellie Goulding (born 1986), British singer-songwriter, born Elena Jane Goulding
Elena Grushina, Ukrainian figure skater
Elena Herraiz (born 1992), Spanish linguist and YouTube personality
Elena Hila, Romanian shot putter
Elena Huelva (2002–2023), Spanish cancer activist and writer
Elena Ierodiakonou, Cypriot model
Elena Kagan (born 1960), former United States Solicitor General and current Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Elena Kalinina (born 1997), Russian kitesurfer
Elena Kats-Chernin (born 1957), Australian composer
Elena Khatzisavva, Cypriot gymnast
Elena Kosmina, Ukrainian beauty queen and model
Elena Kountoura, Greek ex-model and politician
Elena Kratter (born 1996), Swiss para-athlete

L–Z

Elena Ledda, Sardinian singer
Elena Liashenko, Ukrainian figure skater
Elena Likhovtseva (born 1975), Russian tennis player
Elena Lobsanova, Russian-Canadian ballet dancer
Elena Manuele (born 2003), Italian singer
Elena Vladimirovna Markova (1923–2023), Soviet-Russian cyberneticist^[3]
Elena Mousikou, Cypriot archer
Elena Mazzantini (born 1874), Italian actress known as Daisy Sylvan
Elena Nathanael, Greek actress
Elena Nikolaeva (born 1985), Russian journalist
Elena Nikolaidi, Greek-American opera singer
Elena Nikoli, Greek handball player
Elena Obraztsova (1930–2015), Russian operatic mezzo-soprano
Elena Pampoulova (born 1972), Bulgarian tennis player
Elena Panaritis, Greek economist
Elena Paparizou, Greek singer
Elena Pinderhughes (born 1995), American jazz flutist
Princess Elena of Montenegro (Princess Elena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, 1873–1952), wife of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Elena Poniatowska, Mexican journalist and author
Elena Moldovan Popoviciu, Romanian mathematician
Elena Rigas (born 1996), Danish speed skater
Elena Rybakina (born 1999), Russian-Kazakhstani tennis player
Elena Salgado (born 1949), Spanish politician
Elena Saurel, London-based Spanish-American actress
Elena Shimko (born 1982), Russian badminton player
Elena Siegman, American singer
Elena Skordelli, Cypriot television presenter
Elena Souliotis, Greek opera singer
Elena Stasova, Russian communist revolutionary
Elena Tatarkova (born 1976), Ukrainian former tennis player
Elena Temnikova, Russian singer, television personality and fashion designer
Elena Tsagrinou (born 1994), Greek singer
Elena Jane Tucker, Australian geneticist
Elena Udrea, Romanian politician; Minister of Tourism
Elena Urlaeva (born 1961), Uzbek human rights activist
Elena Vaenga, Russian singer, songwriter and actress
Elena Vardanyan (born 1984), Armenian actress
Elena Vesnina (born 1986), Russian tennis player
Elena Votsi, Greek designer
Elena Waiss (1908–1988), Chilean pianist
Elena Whitham (born 1974), British politician
Elena Zamolodchikova, Russian gymnast
Elena Zelenskaya, Russian soprano

Middle name

Maria Elena Camerin (born 1982), Italian tennis player
Maria Elena Kyriakou (born 1984), Greek Cypriot singer

In fiction

Elena, from Street Fighter III
Elena, a fictional character played by Hazera Ambce in the British web series Corner Shop Show
Elena a priestess from Grandia II
Elena, a lord and the illegitimate daughter of Thomas Covenant
Elena, an 18-year-old girl from the Wii game Pandora's Tower
Elena, a Soviet scientist in the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey
Elena, played by Vera Filatova, is a resident of Apollo House and one of Jez's love interests in Peep Show (British TV series)
Elena Alvarez, teenage daughter on One Day at a Time (2017 TV series)
Elena Amamiya, a character in Star Twinkle PreCure
Elena Bothari-Jesek, a childhood friend of Miles' and later a leader of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet from the Vorkosigan Saga
Elena Cañero-Reed, the main character from the tv show Diary of a Future President
Elena Castillo Flores, a Disney princess from the animated television series Elena of Avalor
Elena Fisher, a character in the Uncharted series
Elena Gilbert, from The Vampire Diaries
Elena Greco, character in the Neapolitan Novels, a 4-part series by the Italian author Elena Ferrante
Elena Michaels, in the Women of the Otherworld series
Elena Potato, from the comic book and animated series Monster Allergy
Elena Ramos, from Dallas
Elena of Turks, from Final Fantasy VII
Elena Tyler, a character portrayed by Tangi Miller on the 1998–2002 Warner Bros. series Felicity
Elena de la Vega, character from "The Mask of Zorro," a 1998 motion picture

Notes

^ The Treasury of North American Baby Names by Gill Davies, p. 88, ISBN 1903025125
^ "Behind the Name". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
^ "Воркутинские заметки каторжанки «Е-105» - Воспоминания о ГУЛАГе и их авторы" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

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[1] The Treasury of North American Baby Names by Gill Davies, p. 88, ISBN 1903025125

[2] "Behind the Name". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2008.

[3] "Воркутинские заметки каторжанки «Е-105» - Воспоминания о ГУЛАГе и их авторы" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Notable people

Given name

A–K

L–Z

Middle name

In fiction

See also

Notes