Eleanor
Top 1000
About Eleanor
Eleanor's straightforward feminine image combined with its royal medieval history is striking just the right note for parents in search of a girls' name that combines substance and style.
Big plus: Eleanor is a serious name, with two nicknames—Ellie and Nell/Nellie—that are seriously endearing. Nell is more distinctive, but Ellie is undeniably one of today's top cute girl names.
While some think Eleanor is a variation of Helen via Ellen, it actually derives from the Provencal name Aliénor, of highly-debated meaning. It may come from the Germanic name Adenorde, meaning "ancient north" or "noble north". Another theory is that it derives from the Latin phrase alia Aenor, meaning "other Aenor," used to distinguish some original Eleanor, who was named after her mother Aenor. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine brought it from France to England in the twelfth century. Other spellings include Elinor and Eleanore.
Diane Lane has an Eleanor, and Katie Couric has an Elinor, using the variant spelling. (Jane Austen used both versions—Eleanor in Northanger Abbey and Elinor in Sense and Sensibility.)
A notable namesake is First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Two other English queens bore the name: the wives of Henry III and Edward I. Eleanor Shellstrop was the protagonist of television show The Good Place.
Eleanora and Leonora are pretty, more feminine variations. Ellen and Lenore are shorter forms.
Pronounced EL-uh-nor.
As of October 2026, Eleanor ranked #12 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #8.
Editor's take: The name Eleanor is a girl's name of English origin.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #78 | 3,740 | 2,093.6 |
| 2015 | #60 | 4,439 | 2,486.7 |
| 2016 | #41 | 5,139 | 2,900.1 |
| 2017 | #36 | 5,549 | 3,214.1 |
| 2018 | #32 | 5,727 | 3,366.7 |
| 2019 | #27 | 6,198 | 3,692.9 |
| 2020 | #22 | 6,378 | 3,945.4 |
| 2021 | #15 | 7,097 | 4,325.2 |
| 2022 | #16 | 6,925 | 4,222.2 |
| 2023 | #14 | 6,757 | 4,211.1 |
| 2024 | #14 | 7,127 | 4,398.9 |
| 2025 | #12 | 7,649 | 4,759 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Eleanor.
- Clara
- Alice
- Eloise
- Nora
- Penelope
- Cora
- Eliza
- Evelyn
- Lucy
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Josephine
- Adelaide
- Violet
- Matilda
- Audrey
- Genevive
- Ada
- Mae
- Jane
Eleanor on lists
Famous Eleanors
- (Anna) Eleanor Roosevelt
former First Lady of the US as wife of Franklin Roosevelt
- Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen consort of Louis VII of France, then Henry II of England
- Eleanor of Castile
Queen consort of Edward I of England
- Eleanor of Provence
Queen consort of Henry III of England
- Eleanor of England
Queen consort of Alfonso VIII of Castile; daughter of Henry II
- Eleanor of Castile
Queen consort of James I of Aragon
- Eleanor of Castile
Queen consort of Alfonso IV of Aragon
- Eleanor of Castile
Queen consort of Charles III of Navarre
- Eleanor of Sicily
Queen consort of Peter IV of Aragon
- Eleanor of Viseu
Queen consort of John II of Portugal
- Eleanor of Austria
Queen consort of Manuel I of Portugal, then Francis I of France
- Eleanor Jean Parker
American actress
- Eleanor Marie Robertson
birth name of Nora Roberts, American novelist
- Ella Augusta "Eleanor" Norcross
American painter
- Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich
American songwriter
- Eleanor Suzanne "Ellie" Daniel
American Olympic swimmer
- Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter
American novelist
- Eleanor Holmes Norton
U.S. Congressional delegate from D.C.
- Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson
American author
- Eleanor Nancy Gow
birth name of Elle Macpherson, Australian supermodel
- Eleanor K. Baum
American pioneering electrical engineer
- Eleanor "Elle" Logan
American Olympic rower
- Eleanor Audley
American actress
- Eleanor May Tomlinson
English actress
- Eleanor Jessie Coppola
American film director
- Eleanor Key Francis "Glo" Helin
American astronomer
- Eleanor Winifred Worthington
Cox, English actress
- Eleanor Randolph Wilson McAdoo
daughter of US President Woodrow Wilson
- (Jenny Julia) Eleanor Marx
daughter of philosopher Karl Marx
- Eleanor Stills
daughter of musician Stephen Stills
- Eleanor Rose "Ella" Edmondson
English singer; daughter of actress Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson
- Eleanor Patricia Columbus (b. 1989)
daughter of director Chris Columbus
- Eleanor Jasmine Lambert (b. 1993)
daughter of actors Christopher Lambert and Diane Lane
- Eleanor Grace Dennis (b. 2008)
daughter of actor and TV presenter Les Dennis
- Eleanor "Ellie" Kennedy (b. 2015)
daughter of politician Joseph P. Kennedy III
- Eleanor Talitha Bailey
daughter of Devon Aoki and James Bailey
- Eleanor Jane Calder
English model and fashion blogger who's best known for dating Louis Tomlinson
Eleanor in pop culture
- "Eleanor" has connections to multiple characters in William Shakespeare's plays
notably in Henry VI, King John, etc.
- "Eleanor Rigby
" song by The Beatles
- "Eleanor Put Your Boots On
" song by Franz Ferdinand
- Eleanor Waldorf
character on "Gossip Girl"
- Eleanor Henstridge
character on TV's "The Royals"
- Eleanor Shellstrop
character on TV's "The Good Place"
- Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop
character on TV's "NCIS"
- Eleanor "Elle" Bishop
character on TV's "Heroes"
- Eleanor "Nell" Potter
character on TV's "Smallville"
- Eleanor "Nell" Crain/Vance
character in "The Haunting of Hill House"
- Eleanor Arroway
character in Carl Sagan's "Contact"
- Eleanor "Ellie" Nash
character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
- Eleanor "Norrie" Calvert
Hill, character on TV's "Under the Dome"
- Eleanor
character in video game "Rule of Rose"
- Eleanor Lamb
character in video game "Bioshock 2"
- Eleanor Douglas
character in "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
- Eleanor Oliphant
protagonist of book "Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine" by Gail Honeyman
- "Queen Eleanor's Confession"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"