Lena (English)

Where does "Lena" come from?

The name Lena functions as a pet form of names like Helena, which descends from the Ancient Greek 'Helénē'[1][2]. As a geographical term, the Siberian river Lena derives from the Russian 'Лена'[1], which itself originates from the Evenki term 'Jeljujenə' meaning 'the Large River'[1]. Meanwhile, the town in Norway stems from the Old Norse 'lein'[1], while the Norwegian river of the same name is likely linked to the Old Norse 'leir' denoting 'clay'[1].

Open questions

• The connection between the Norwegian river Lena and the Old Norse term for clay is considered probable rather than certain. [1]

Full etymology tree

• Lena (English), 'A female given name from Ancient Greek.'
  • derived Helena (English), 'A female given name from Ancient Greek.'
    • inherited Helena (Latin), 'Helen'
      • inherited Ἑλένη (Helénē) (Ancient Greek), 'Helen, a goddess worshipped in Laconia and Rhodes.'
  • derived Magdalena (English), 'A department in northern Colombia.'
  • derived Yelena (English), 'A transliteration of the Bulgarian, Macedonian, or Russian female given name Еле́на (Eléna), equivalent to Helen.'

Ancestors

• Лена (Russian)

Descendants and derived words

• Leaping Lena (English)
• Pola de Lena (English)

Sources

1. Lena (English) - Wiktionary
2. Helena (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris