Eleanor

What Eleanor means

Possibly “other”

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”.

Source: Wiktionary, “Eleanor” (revision 89333856), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Eleanor?

US: Rising: up from #60 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #54 in 2015, #56 now.

Biggest US share so far: 1915, when 7,036 girls got the name (#28 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 210 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 326 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 471 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (26.69 per 1,000 girls), WY (17.26 per 1,000 girls), DC (14.86 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Eleanor is #12 in the US and #56 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Eleanor were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Eleanore156 US · 5 E&W
• Eleonor65 US · 8 E&W
• Elenora46 US · 7 E&W
• Elleanor48 US
• Ellanora34 US
• Elanora20 US
• Eleonore13 US · 7 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Eleanor

Girls

• Aurora#15Italian, from Latin Aurōra, meaning “dawn, sunrise”^*
• Athena#109Editor’s note Up from #157 in 2015 to #109 in 2025 in the US
• Emilia#45Variant of Emily, meaning “rival, emulator”^*
• Nova#46“new”^*
• Hazel#21From the word “hazel”^*
• Ember#154Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #366 in 2015, #154 in 2025

For a brother

• Ezra#20Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #93 in 2015, #20 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters
• Bennett#40Form of Benedict, meaning “blessed, well spoken of”^*
• Leo#19“lion”^*
• Hayes#162“brushwood”^*
• Roman#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #102 in 2015, #42 in 2025
• Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Eleanor’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.