The Bacaloglus, whose name is the Turkish for "grocer's son" (var. "Bakkaloğlu"), were a family of social and political importance, descending from the Bulgaro-Romanian Ion D. H. Bacaloglu, a recipient of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. Elena's ancestors were first mentioned in Bucharest about 1826, having settled in Wallachia as foreign nationals, and set up business as land speculators. Elena's father was Bucharest civil administrator Alexandru Bacaloglu (1845–1915), related to scientist Emanoil Bacaloglu. He was married to Sofia G. Izvoreanu (1854–1942). Alexandru and Sofia's children, other than Elena, were: Constantin (1871–1942), a University of Iași physician; Victor (1872–1945), an engineer, writer and journalist; and George (Gheorghe) Bacaloglu, an artillery officer and literary man. Another brother, lawyer Alexandru "Sandi" Bacaloglu, was less known until a 1923 incident propelled him into the public arena.