# Eleanor (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/eleanor/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “other”, “the other aenor”, “riches”, “fame”, “light” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛləˌnoɹ/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Elle, Nellie |
| Variant spellings | Elinor, Lenore, Lenora, Eleanora |
| US babies named this | 337,323 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 645 / 336,678 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 41,352, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

The first known bearer was Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204), Provençal Aliénor, perhaps from Latin alia (“other”) and her mother's name Aenor, its meaning thereby said to be “the other Aenor”. This Aenor seems to come from earlier Adenordis, which might be some corruption of Adamardis, feminine form of Ademar or Adamarus, from Proto-West Germanic *Audamār, from the Proto-Germanic elements *audaz (“riches”) + *mēraz (“fame”). An Arabic origin from نُور (nūr, “light”) has also been suggested. Eleanor has often been erroneously interpreted as a variant of Helen. More at Eleanor on Wikipedia. Also see Aenor.

## What it means

Eleanor is grouped under famous and light.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,085 | 150 |
| 2012 | 2,383 | 134 |
| 2013 | 3,013 | 106 |
| 2014 | 3,740 | 78 |
| 2015 | 4,442 | 60 |
| 2016 | 5,140 | 41 |
| 2017 | 5,549 | 36 |
| 2018 | 5,728 | 32 |
| 2019 | 6,198 | 27 |
| 2020 | 6,379 | 22 |
| 2021 | 7,099 | 15 |
| 2022 | 6,927 | 16 |
| 2023 | 6,765 | 14 |
| 2024 | 7,147 | 14 |
| 2025 | 7,649 | 12 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 17 | 1,709 |
| 1942 | 11 | 2,299 |
| 1943 | 9 | 2,608 |
| 1944 | 11 | 2,230 |
| 1946 | 6 | 3,276 |
| 1953 | 7 | 3,212 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,418 |
| 2009 | 5 | 13,026 |
| 2018 | 5 | 12,702 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,036 |
| 2021 | 5 | 12,677 |
| 2022 | 6 | 11,258 |
| 2023 | 6 | 11,224 |
| 2024 | 10 | 7,924 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12,559 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,049 | 59 |
| 2012 | 989 | 63 |
| 2013 | 1,039 | 57 |
| 2014 | 1,049 | 60 |
| 2015 | 1,105 | 54 |
| 2016 | 1,147 | 47 |
| 2017 | 1,027 | 54 |
| 2018 | 985 | 51 |
| 2019 | 971 | 52 |
| 2020 | 900 | 53 |
| 2021 | 915 | 55 |
| 2022 | 788 | 62 |
| 2023 | 762 | 58 |
| 2024 | 672 | 67 |
| 2025 | 776 | 56 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: نُورَة
- Bulgarian: Eлеоно́ра
- Czech: Eleonora
- Danish: Eleonora
- Finnish: Eleonoora
- French: Éléonore, Aliénor
- German: Eleonore
- Greek: Ελεονώρα
- Hungarian: Eleonóra
- Italian: Eleonora
- Latin: Eleonora
- Latvian: Eleonora
- Norwegian: Eleonora
- Polish: Eleonora
- Portuguese: Leonor
- Russian: Элеоно́ра, Э́линор
- Slovak: Eleonóra
- Spanish: Leonor
- Swedish: Eleonora

## People named Eleanor

- Eleanor Roosevelt, American diplomat and activist, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1884–19
- Eleanor Parker, American actress (1922-2013)
- Eleanor H. Porter, American novelist (1868–1920)
- Eleanor F. Helin, American astronomer (1932-2009)
- Eleanor Farjeon, English children's writer
- Eleanor Marx, English writer, translator, activist, and daughter of Karl Marx (1855–1898)
- Eleanor Tomlinson, British actress (born 1992)
- Eleanor Patterson, Australian athletics competitor
- Archduchess Eleanor of Austria, Archduchess of Austria (1534-1594)
- Eleanor Powell, Dancer, actress
- Eleanor Boardman, American actress (1898–1991)
- Eleanor Hallowell Abbott, American author (1873–1958)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.