Elena (given name)

ElenaPronunciation| Italian: [ˈɛːlena]
Spanish: [eˈlena]

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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); Ilana (Greek);Olena (Ukrainian); Leena (Finnish); and Elena/Yelena/Jelena (Russian, Serbian, Croatian).[2]

## Notable people

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### Given name

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#### A–K

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* Elena Abelson (1904–1993), better known as Tamara Talbot Rice, Russian-English art historian
* Elena Altieri, Italian actress
* Elena Amat Calderón (1910–2006), Spanish university professor and archivist
* 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 Damiani (born 1979), Peruvian visual artist
* 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 Grölz (1960–2025), Romanian-born German handball player
* 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 Izcue (1889–1970), Peruvian illustrator, graphic artist
* 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

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* 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

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

## In fiction

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* Elena, from Street Fighter III, Ultra Street Fighter IV, and Street Fighter VI
* 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 Chávez, abuela to the titular protagonists from the animated children's series Maya & Miguel
* 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 Rivera, from the Pixar animated film Coco
* 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

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* All pages with titles containing Elena
* Elena (disambiguation)
* Lena (name)

## Notes

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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.

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