Elena
Top 1000
About Elena
Elena is at its most popular point ever in the US, thanks to its cross-cultural appeal and the overall popularity of El- names. It's more international than Ellen or Eleanor, but still accessible.
A pan-European version of Helen, Elena has roots in Spanish, Italian, Slavic, and Romanian, among other languages. Helen, the name from which it derives, came from the Greek word helene, meaning "torch." Alternate spellings include Elaina, Ellena, and Alena.
Elena may be trending, but she's also a solid classic as well as an international favorite. Elena ranks highly in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain along with a host of other countries.
A worthy namesake is Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the fourth female to hold that position. Pseudonymous Italian writer Elena Ferrante, author of the Neapolitan Novels, is another famous Elena.
A fictional bearer is Elena Gilbert, protagonist of The Vampire Diaries. and Elena Lincoln is a character in Fifty Shades of Grey. Elena of Avalor is a princess featured in the Disney Junior show of that name.
Read more about Elena and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
Pronounced eh-LAY-nuh.
As of October 2026, Elena ranked #42 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #93.
Editor's take: The name Elena is a girl's name of Spanish, Italian, Greek origin meaning "bright, shining light".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #121 | 2,616 | 1,464.4 |
| 2015 | #106 | 2,898 | 1,623.4 |
| 2016 | #94 | 3,187 | 1,798.5 |
| 2017 | #68 | 3,881 | 2,248 |
| 2018 | #67 | 3,776 | 2,219.8 |
| 2019 | #60 | 3,948 | 2,352.3 |
| 2020 | #55 | 3,926 | 2,428.6 |
| 2021 | #53 | 4,279 | 2,607.8 |
| 2022 | #49 | 4,289 | 2,615 |
| 2023 | #47 | 4,276 | 2,664.9 |
| 2024 | #45 | 4,567 | 2,818.8 |
| 2025 | #42 | 4,836 | 3,008.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Elena.
- Eliana
- Emilia
- Liliana
- Leila
- Maya
- Talia
- Eva
- Natalia
- Annalise
- Elise
- Juliette
- Lucia
- Naomi
- Amalia
- Arabella
- Sofia
- Amelie
- Serena
- Keira
- Amarie
Elena on lists
Famous Elenas
- Elena Petrović
Njegoš of Montenegro, Queen consort of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Albania
- Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding
English singer
- Elena Sergeevna "Lena" Katina
Russian singer of group t.A.T.u
- Elena Kagan
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva
Russian tennis player
- Elena Băsescu
Romanian MEP
- Elena Ferrante
penname of an unknown Italian novelist
- Elena Gant
reality TV personality from "Little Women: LA"
- Elena Goode
American actress
- Elena María Isabel Dominica de Silos de Borbón y de Grecia
Infanta of Spain; Duchess of Lugo; daughter of Juan Carlos I
- Elena
Princess of Romania; daughter of Michael I
- Elena Delle Donne
American basketball player
- Elena Bibescu
Romanian princess and pianist
- Elena Olegovna Bovina
Russian tennis player
- Elena Radionova
Russian figure skater
- Elena Sergeevna Baltacha
Ukrainian,British tennis player
- Elena Slivnyak
fashion designer and former "Project Runway" contestant
- Elena Vesnina
Russian tennis player
- Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva
Russian tennis player
- Eleni "Elena" Paparizou
Greek,Swedish singer
- Elena Eremina
Russian gymnast
- Elena Arenas
American gymnast
- Elena Neill (b. 1991)
daughter of actor Sam Neill
- Elena Kitic (b. 1998)
daughter of Serbian stars Mile Kitic & Marta Savic
- Elena Bineva
Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast
- Elena Kong
Hong,Kong actress
- Elena Valeryevna Kostyleva
Russian figure skater
Elena in pop culture
- Elena Gilbert
character in The Vampire Diaries series
- Elena "Helene" Vasilyevna Kuragina
character from Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
- Elena Castillo Flores of Avalor
Disney Princess on animated series "Elena of Avalor"
- Elena Houghlin
character in 2019's "Charlie's Angels"
- Elena Tyler
character on TV's "Felicity"
- Elena Ramos
character on TV's "Dallas"
- Elena Fisher
character in the video game 'Uncharted'
- Elena Lincoln
character in the Fifty Shades of Grey series
- Godmother Elena
main character in "The Fairy Godmother"
- Elena
Daemon Spade's lover in the series, 'Katekyo Hitman Reborn!'
- Elena
character in the game 'Final Fantasy VII'
- Elena Derevko
character on TV's Alias
- Elena "Yo
Yo" Rodriguez, character on TV's "Agents of SHIELD"
- Elena
character in the Street Fighter video games
- Elena Greco
heroine and narrator of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels
- Elena Galathynius Havilliard
half,fae Queen from the Throne of Glass novels
- Elena Antonov Michaels Danvers
main character in Kelley Armstrong "Women of the Otherworld"
- Elena Alvarez
character in Netflix's "One Day At A Time"
- Elena Abelli
Female main character of book “The Sweetest Oblivion” by Danielle Lori