The first name Yelena
A girl’s name from Latin.
3 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
Latin origin
From Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian Еле́на (Jeléna), from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Helena.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
Yelena last appeared in the official list in 2024, given to 3 girls. It peaked in 1997, with 7 births (#2,152).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Yelena with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Yelena at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 112 girls born in the United States were named Yelena, the 1,807th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 2022, when 145 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Yelena in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Spelled Yelena in French too.
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Yelena
28 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Yelena RomanovaAthletics competitor (1963-2007)
- Yelena NaimushinaArtistic gymnast (1964–2017)
- Yelena PanovaActress, born 1977
- Yelena GrudnevaArtistic gymnast, born 1974
- Yelena ShevchenkoArtistic gymnast, born 1971
- Yelena GagarinaArt historian and director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, born 1959
- Yelena TrofimenkoBelarusian actress and film director, born 1964
- Yelena ParxomenkoAzerbaijani volleyball player, born 1982
- Yelena SkulskayaEstonian journalist and writer (born 1950)
- Yelena GrishinaFencer, born 1968
- Olena ZelenskaFirst Lady of Ukraine since 2019
- Alyona LanskayaBelarusian singer, born 1985
More Latin girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Yelena mean?
- From Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian Еле́на (Jeléna), from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Helena.
- What is the origin of the name Yelena?
- From Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian Еле́на (Jeléna), from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Helena.
- How popular is the name Yelena?
- In 2024, 3 girls born in England and Wales were named Yelena, ranking 5,891st. Its peak was 1997, with 7 births.
- Is Yelena a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 1,626 US babies named Yelena since 1880 were girls.
- When was Yelena most popular?
- 2022 in the United States, when 145 babies were named Yelena, its highest rank at 1,504th.
- What are other spellings of Yelena?
- Jelena and Elena.