Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name Aliénor. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introduced to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who came to marry King Henry II. It was also borne by Eleanor of Provence, who became Queen consort of England as the wife of King Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I.
The name was popular in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s, peaking at rank 25 in 1920. It declined below 600 by the 1970s but has again risen in popularity. It ranked 32nd in the 2010s. It ranked 16th on the popularity chart for names given to newborn girls in the United States in 2022. Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving first lady of the U.S., was probably the most famous bearer of the name in contemporary history. A common variant is Eleonora/Eleanora.
Common hypocorisms include Elle, Ella, Ellie, Elly, Leonor, Leonora, Leonore, Nella, Nellie, Nelly, and Nora.
Origin
The name derives from the Provençal name Aliénor, which became Eléonore in Langue d'oïl, i.e., French, and from there Eleanor in English.
The origin of the name is somewhat unclear; one of the earliest bearers appears to have been Eleanor of Aquitaine (1120s–1204). She was the daughter of Aénor de Châtellerault, and it has been suggested that having been baptized Aenor after her mother, she was called alia Aenor, i.e. "the other Aenor" or Aliénor in childhood and would have kept that name in adult life.
Some sources say that the name Aénor itself may be a Latinization of an unknown Germanic name.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful woman in 12th century Europe, was certainly the reason for the name's later popularity. However, the name's origin with her, and the explanation of alia Aenor is uncertain; there are records of possible bearers of the name Alienor earlier in the 12th, or even in the 11th or 10th centuries,
but the records of these women post-date Eleanor of Aquitaine, at a time when Alienor had come to be seen as an equivalent variant of the name Aenor (so that presumably, these women during their own lifetime used the given name Aenor):
Alienor, wife (b. 899) (married 935) of Aimery II, Viscount of Thouars, and mother of Herbert I (born 960).
Aleanor de Thouars (1050-1088/93), grandmother of Aénor of Châtellerault, and thus Eleanor of Aquitaine's great-grandmother. Born c. 1060 as a daughter of Aimery IV of Thouars and Aurengarde de Mauleon. Her name is also cited in some documents as Adenor, Aenors and Aleanor/Alienor, and may have been corrupted to Alienor in genealogies only after the 12th century.
Eleanor of Normandy, aunt of William the Conqueror, was so named by the 17th-century genealogist Pierre de Guibours, but de Guibours' sources for this remain unknown.
Eleanor of Champagne (1102–1147), in 1125 became the first wife of Ralph I, Count of Vermandois, who was displaced by Eleanor of Aquitaine's sister Petronilla of Aquitaine, leading to war (1142–44) in Champagne.
Eleanor of Normandy (b. 1011/1013, d. after 1071), daughter of Richard II of Normandy.
Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1122–1204), wife of Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, mother of Richard I and King John
Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile (1161–1214), daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine; wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile
Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (1184–1241), daughter of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany
Eleanor of Brittany (abbess) (1285-1342), granddaughter of Eleanor of Provence and Henry III, and later Abbess of Fontevraud
Eleanor of Castile (1202-1244) (1202–1244), wife of James I of Aragon
Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester (1215–1275), daughter of King John of England, wife of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Eleanor of Provence (1222–1291), wife of Henry III of England, mother of Edward I
Eleanor of Castile (1241–1290), wife of Edward I of England, mother of Edward II
Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar (1269–1298), daughter of Edward I, betrothed to Alfonso III of Aragon, and wife of Henry III of Bar
Eleanor of Anjou (1289-1341), daughter of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, and wife of Frederick III of Sicily
Eleanor de Clare (1292-1337), granddaughter of Edward I of England and wife of Hugh Despenser the Younger
Eleanor of Castile (1307-1359) (1307–1359), wife of Alfonso IV of Aragon
Eleanor of Woodstock (1318–1355), daughter of Edward II, wife of Reynold II, Count of Gelderland
Eleanor of Arborea (1347 – 1404), Sardinian judge
Eleanor of Sicily (1349-1375), wife of Peter IV of Aragon
Eleanor of Castile (d. 1416) (136x–1416), wife of Charles III of Navarre
Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (1402–1445) wife of Edward I of Portugal
John/Eleanor Rykener, a 14th-century (possibly transgender) prostitute
Modern
Eleanor of Viseu (1458–1525), wife of John II of Portugal
Eleanor of Austria (1498–1558), Queen consort of Portugal (1516–1521) and of France (1530–1547)
Eleanor of Toledo (1522–1562), Spanish noblewoman and Duchess and Regent of Florence (1539)
Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann (1672–1741), Viennese court lady
Eleanor Abrams (1885 - 1967), American painter
Eleanor Adviento (born 1995), New Zealand curler
Eleanor Alberga (born 1949), Jamaican contemporary music composer
Eleanor Ames, known as Eleanor Kirk (1831–1908), American author, businesswoman, newspaper publisher, and suffragist
Eleanor Audley (1905–1991), American actress
Eleanor Boardman (1898–1991), American actress
Eleanor Bodel (born 1948), Swedish singer
Eleanor Bron (born 1938), British actress and author
Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American political hostess
Eleanor Clark (1913–1996), American writer
Eleanor Coppola (1936–2024), American documentary filmmaker
Eleanor Duckworth (born 1935), Canadian psychologist and educator
Eleanor Lansing Dulles (1895–1996), American economist and diplomat
Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965), British writer
Eleanor Friedberger (born 1976), American musician
Eleanor Glanville (1654–1709), English entomologist and naturalist
Eleanor Gwynn (known colloquially as "Nell") (1650-1687), Restoration actress and mistress of Charles II of England
Eleanor Helin (1932–2009), American astronomer
Eleanor Hibbert (1906–1993), British novelist
Eleanor Holm (1912–2004), American competition swimmer
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born 1937), American politician
Eleanor James (born 1986), English actress
Eleanor Campbell King (1906–1991), American modern dancer and choreographer
Eleanor Warwick King (born 1957), British appellate court judge
Eleanor Laing (born 1958), British politician
Eleanor Lee (born 1999), Singaporean actress, singer and model
Eleanor Agnes Lee (1841–1873), diarist, poet, and daughter of Robert E. Lee
Eleanor Macomber (1801–1840), missionary, teacher
Eleanor Maguire (born 1970), Irish neuroscientist
Eleanor Marx (1855–1898), British writer and daughter of Karl Marx
Eleanor Matsuura, British actress
Eleanor Wilson McAdoo (1889-1967), American author and the youngest daughter of President U.S. Woodrow Wilson
Eleanor McEvoy (born 1967), Irish musician, singer/songwriter
Eleanor Mears (1917–1992), Scottish medical practitioner and campaigner
Eleanor Modrakowska (1879–1955), American painter
Eleanor Mondale, American actress, infotainer, television personality
Eleanor Montgomery (1946–2013), American high jumper
Eleanor Mosley (1700–?), English milliner and businesswoman
Eleanor Munro (1928–2022), American art critic, art historian, writer, and editor
Eleanor Legasto Nishiumi, known as Ellen Nishiumi (born 1966), Filipino television personality
Eleanor Oldroyd (born 1962), British radio broadcaster
Eleanor O'Meara (died 2000), Canadian figure skater
Eleanor Owen (1921–2022), also known as Eleanor DeVito, American journalist, playwright, university professor, costume designer, theatre actress, and mental health professional
Eleanor Parker (1922-2013), American actress
Eleanor Patterson (born 1996), Australian track and field athlete who competes in the high jump
Eleanor Addison Phillips (1874–1952), English educationist and founder of the first UK Soroptimist movement, the Venture Club
Eleanor Pilgrim (born 1977), Welsh professional golfer
Eleanor Anne Porden (1795–1825), English poet
Eleanor Porter (1868–1920), American novelist
Eleanor Powell (1912–1982), American tap dancer and actress
Eleanor Race (born 1970), American field hockey player
Eleanor Rathbone (1872–1946), British politician
Eleanor Reeves (born 1980), British politician
Eleanor Robinson (born 1947), British former ultramarathon runner
Eleanor Butler Roosevelt (1888-1960), American philanthropist
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), First Lady of U.S., wife of President Franklin Roosevelt
Eleanor Ruggles (1916-2008), American biographer
Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves (born 1927), American librarian, educator, historian, and editor
Eleanor Ryan-Doyle (born 1998), Irish professional footballer
Eleanor Simmonds (born 1994), British former Paralympian swimmer
Eleanor Smart (born 1995), American high diver
Eleanor Smith (born 1957), British politician
Eleanor Soltau (1877–1962), English doctor
Eleanor Tennant (1895–1974), tennis player and coach from the U.S.
Eleanor Threlkeld (born 1998), English cricketer
Eleanor Tomlinson (born 1992), English actress
Eleanor Wong (musician), pianist and professor in Hong Kong
Eleanor Worthington Cox (born 2001), English actress
People with the given name Eleanour
Eleanour Sinclair Rohde (1881-1950), British garden designer
People with the given name Elenore
Elenore Abbott (1875–1935), American painter and book illustrator
Elenore Freedman (1926-2022), American educator
Elenore Pepper (1924-2006), American field hockey player
People with the given name Eleonore
Eleonore Büning (born 1952), German music journalist and writer
Eleonore Caburet (born 2004), French rhythmic gymnast
Eleonore Carboniers, Dutch poet
Éléonore Caroit (born 1985), French politician
Eleonore Cellard, French scholar
Eleonore Dailly, American filmmaker
Eleonore de Ahna (1838–1865), German operatic soprano/mezzo-soprano
Eleonore Heerwart (1835–1911), German kindergarten teacher, educator and writer
Eleonore Hendricks (born 1983), American actress, photographer and casting director
Eleonore Koch (1926–2018), German-born Brazilian painter and sculptor
Eleonore Marguerre (born 1978), German opera singer (coloratura soprano) with Belgic-French ancestors
Eleonore Merza, anthropologist who studies Adygean diaspora communities in Israel and beyond
Eleonore Noll-Hasenclever (1880–1925), German alpinist who mainly climbed in the Swiss Alps
Eleonore Pameijer (born 1960), Dutch flute player
Eleonore Pecanka (born 1956), Austrian field hockey player
Eleonore Schikaneder (1751–1821), Austrian stage actress and theatre manager
Eleonore Schoenfeld (1925–2007), American musician
Eleonore Schönmaier, Canadian poet and fiction writer.
Eleonore Schwarz (born 1936), Austrian singer
Eleonore Stump (born 1947), American philosopher
Eleonore Trefftz (1920–2017), German physicist
Eleonore von Grothaus (1734–1794), German noblewoman, a writer and poet, and a lay musician
Eleonore von Habsburg (born 1994), Austrian model
Eleonore von Raab, Austrian collector of minerals
Eleonore Weisgerber (born 1947), German television actress
People with the given name Elinor
Elinor Proby Adams (1885–1945), British oil painter, book illustrator and mural painter
Elinor Armer (born 1939), American pianist, music educator and composer
Elinor Barker (born 1994), Welsh road and track racing cyclist
Elinor Bellingham-Smith (1906–1988), British painter of landscapes and still life
Elinor Bennett (born 1943), Welsh harpist
Elinor Langton-Boyle, Hawaiian businesswoman and journalist
Elinor Brent-Dyer (1894–1969), English writer of children's literature
Elinor Burkett (born 1946), American journalist, author, film producer, and documentary director
Elinor Busby (born 1924), American science fiction writer and fanzine editor
Elinor Cahn (1925–2020), American photographer
Elinor Carucci (born 1971), Israeli-American photographer and educator
Evelyn May Clowes, known by the pseudonym Elinor Mordaunt (1872–1942), English author, writer and traveller
Elinor Crawley (born 1991), Welsh actress
Elinor Darwin (1879–1954), Irish-born illustrator, engraver and portrait painter
Elinor DeWire (born 1953), American author, freelance writer, editor, public speaker, educator, and blogger based in Connecticut
Elinor Donahue (born 1937), American actress
Elinor Virginia Martin, known as Elinor Fair (1903–1957), American actress
Elinor Fettiplace, English cookery book writer
Elinor Field (1902–1998), American film actress
Elinor Freer, American pianist
Elinor Gadon (1925–2018), American cultural historian, Indologist, art historian and author
Elinor Wight Gardner (1892–1980), geology lecturer at Bedford College, London and research fellow at Lady Margaret Hall
Elinor D. Gregg (1886–1970), American public nurse
Elinor Glyn (1864–1943), British novelist
Elinor Goldschmied (1910–2009), English educationalist
Elinor Gwynn, Welsh poet and environmentalist
Elinor Hallé (1856–1926), British sculptor and inventor
Elinor Hancock (1898–1942), American actress
Elinor Holt, Canadian voice actress
Elinor Lander Horwitz (1929–2022), American author of young adult and adult books
Elinor Mead Howells (1837–1910), American artist, architect and aristocrat
Elinor Joseph (born 1991), Israeli soldier
Elinor Kershaw (1884–1971), American stage and motion-picture actress
Elinor Macartney Lane (1864–1909), American novelist
Elinor Lawless (born 1983), Northern Irish actress
Elinor Leigh, British stage actor of the seventeenth century
Elinor Lipman (born 1950), American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
Elinor Lyon (1921–2008), English children's author from a Scottish family background
Elinor Mavor, editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic from early 1979 until late 1981
Elinor Middlemiss (born 1967), Scottish badminton player
Elinor Ochs, American linguistic anthropologist, and Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Los Angeles
Elinor Ostrom (1933–2012), American political scientist and Nobel prize winner
Elinor Portnoy, Israeli-born glass artist based in London, England
Elinor Ross (1926–2020), American opera singer
Elinor Sauerwein (1914-2010), American philanthropist
Elinor Shaffer (born 1935), professor at the School of Advanced Study, University of London
Elinor Smith (1911–2010), American aviator
Elinor Sneshell, English barber-surgeon active during the reign of Elizabeth I of England
Elinor Snowsill (born 1989), Welsh rugby union player
Elinor Sullivan, American physiologist specializing in behavioural neuroscience
Elinor Sweetman, Irish poet and author
Elinor Meissner Traeger (1906–1983), American composer, pianist, and writer
Elinor Remick Warren (1900–1991), American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist
Elinor Whitney Field (1889–1980), American writer of children's books
Elinor Wilson, president of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada between February 14, 2007 and September 30, 2012
Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), American writer
People with the given name Elinore
Elinore Blaisdell (1900–1994), American illustrator
Elinore Denniston (1900–1978), American writer of more than 40 mystery novels under the pseudonym Rae Foley
Elinore Johansson (born 1996), Swedish handball player
Elinore Pruitt Stewart (1876–1933), American homesteader in Wyoming and memoirist
Elinore Schöpp, former German curler
People with the given name Elleanor
Elleanor Eldridge (c.1784-c.1845), African American/Native American entrepreneur
People with the given name Eleonora
Eleonora Ernestina von Daun, Marquise of Pombal (1721–1789), second wife of Portuguese statesman Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal
Eleonora Abbagnato (born 1978), Italian ballet dancer, model, and actress
Eleonora Aguiari (born 1973), Italian installation artist and author
Eleonora Alverà (born 1982), Italian curler
Eleonora Alvisi (born 2003), Italian tennis player
Eleonora Bargili, Italian pastellist active during the eighteenth century
Eleonora Bentivoglio (1470-1540), Italian ruler, Lady of Sassuolo by marriage to Giberto III Pio di Savoia
Eleonora Bergman (born 1947), Polish architectural historian who has worked on the preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland
Eleonora Berlanda (born 1976), former Italian female middle-distance runner
Eleonora Bilotta, Italian researcher into complex systems and human–computer interaction
Eleonora Brigliadori (born 1960), Italian model, actress and television personality
Eleonora Brown (born 1948), Italian film actress
Eleonora Bruzual, Venezuelan writer and journalist
Eleonora Buratto (born 1982), Italian soprano opera singer
Eleonora Carrillo, Salvadoran model and beauty pageant titleholder
Eleonora Cassano (born 1965), Argentine ballet dancer and teacher
Eleonora Catsigeras (born 1956), Uruguayan mathematician
Eleonora Cecchini (born 2003), Sammarinese footballer
Eleonora Cortini (born 1992), Italian Soubrette, model, actress and television presenter
Eleonora Czartoryska (1710-1795), Polish princess, born Countess von Waldstein-Wartenberg
Eleonora Charlotta d'Albedyhll (1770–1835), Swedish countess, poet and salon holder
Eleonora Daniele (born 1976), Italian television presenter and former actress
Eleonora Davtyan (born 1992), Armenian professional footballer
Eleonora De Angelis (born 1967), Italian voice actress
Eleonora De Paolis (born 1986), Italian paracanoeist