Elena

Elena: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “bright, shining light”
Origin: Greek
Say it: eh-LAY-nuh · 3 syllables
Used for: Girls

Form of Helen used in several European languages, including Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Greek. It derives from Greek Helene, traditionally associated with light or brightness.

Italian names Spanish names Slavic names Russian names Names meaning light Classic names International names

How popular is Elena?

20241,372 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Elena in 20244,567

2024 rank#45 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 1880103,247

Elena is rising: use over the last five years is 2.1× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Elena

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Elaynabright, shining light · English
Elanaoak tree · Hebrew
Sophiawisdom · Greek
Sofiawisdom · Greek
Chloeyoung green shoot · Greek
Zoelife · Greek
Penelopeweaver; duck · Greek
Genesisorigin; creation; birth · Greek

Elena questions

What does the name Elena mean?

Elena means "bright, shining light". It comes from Greek. Form of Helen used in several European languages, including Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Greek. It derives from Greek Helene, traditionally associated with light or brightness.

Is Elena a boy or girl name?

Elena is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Elena?

4,567 US babies were named Elena in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Elena?

Elena is usually pronounced eh-LAY-nuh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.