Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Eleonor isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1909. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Eleonor through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 790
- 0 boys · 790 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 65 babies
- 2025
- 65
- #2,659 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +114%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 65 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,659 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 113.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,041 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Eleonor’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Eleonor has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Eleonora. In Swedish usage, Eleonor has a conventional equivalent in the German form Eleonore.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Eleanorequivalent
- EleonoraPolish
- Leonorequivalent
- EleonoreGerman
- Noortjeequivalent
- Aliénorequivalent
- Elionorequivalent
- Éléonoreequivalent
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People named Eleonor
- Eleanor of ViseuQueen consort of Portugal (1458–1525)
- Eléonor SanaBelgian visually impaired alpine skierborn 1997
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Eleonor, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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