Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helena, which signifies 'bright' or 'light', derived from Helios, meaning 'shining' and 'sunlight'. In Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia, the name is also associated with the South Slavic words 'jelen' meaning 'deer, stag' and 'jela' meaning 'fir tree'.