Elena (given name) explained

Elena
Gender:	Female
Meaning:	bright, shining light
Origin:	Greece
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 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

• 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

See also

• • Elena (disambiguation)
• Lena (name)

Notes and References

1. The Treasury of North American Baby Names by Gill Davies, p. 88,
2. Web site: Behind the Name . 16 February 2008 . 13 February 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080213065748/http://www.behindthename.com/name/elena . live .
3. 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 .