she luckily didn't have to fully change it- i believe she just applied to/went through college with that name, to get around the background check. background checks and legal documentation was not so thorough back then. still awful that she had to at all, of course.
also this site seems to be the most well researched of all name sites. so i'd bet that
Ilinca comes from
Elena, especially since
Ilonka is from
Ilona (which is generally accepted to be a form of
Helena, and so connected to
Elena).
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https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/180731/115070 my pnl