NameRealm
Eleanor

Eleanor: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“meaning uncertain”
Origin
French
Say it
EL-uh-nor · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls

From Old French Aliénor; the deeper origin is uncertain, possibly related to Provençal or Germanic forms. The name was popularized in medieval Europe by Eleanor of Aquitaine. The origin of this name is not settled among etymologists.

English namesFrench namesClassic namesRoyal namesInternational names

How popular is Eleanor?

20242,144 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Eleanor in 20247,137

2024 rank#14 girls

Peak year1915

Total US babies since 1880329,630

Eleanor is rising: use over the last five years is 2.9× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Eleanor

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
  • Lenoralight · English
  • Eleanorameaning uncertain · French
  • Nellbright, shining one · English
  • Elinormeaning uncertain · French
  • Eleanoreuncertain; associated with Aenor · French
  • Elanoruncertain; associated with Eleanor · Unknown
  • Lenorelight · Greek

Eleanor questions

What does the name Eleanor mean?

Eleanor means "meaning uncertain". It comes from French. From Old French Aliénor; the deeper origin is uncertain, possibly related to Provençal or Germanic forms. The name was popularized in medieval Europe by Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Is Eleanor a boy or girl name?

Eleanor is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Eleanor?

7,137 US babies were named Eleanor in 2024. Its peak year was 1915.

How do you pronounce Eleanor?

Eleanor is usually pronounced EL-uh-nor.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.