Elena (given name) explained
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 Kiev
- 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 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 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 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 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 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
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
See also
Notes and References
- The Treasury of North American Baby Names by Gill Davies, p. 88,
- Web site: Behind the Name . 16 February 2008 . 13 February 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080213065748/http://www.behindthename.com/name/elena . live .
- Web site: Воркутинские заметки каторжанки «Е-105» - Воспоминания о ГУЛАГе и их авторы . 2024-07-03 . ru-RU . 18 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218033427/https://vgulage.name/books/quot-105-quot/ . live .
