Eleanor
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Meaning
From the Old French form of Occitan Alienòr; its deeper origin and meaning are uncertain.
Goes by Elle, Ellie, Lena, Nell. See all nicknames
The story
At Fontevraud, Eleanor of Aquitaine holds a book made of stone. Her recumbent effigy gives a quiet image to a woman who was queen of France and later queen of England. The sculpture preserves her with the book in her hands. Eleanor reaches English through an Old French form of Occitan Alienòr, but its deeper origin remains uncertain. One explanation reads Alienòr as "other Aenor," distinguishing the queen from her mother. That is a theory rather than a settled translation, and possible earlier bearers complicate it. The history of the name draws us toward this particular woman, then reaches beyond what her biography can explain. At Fontevraud, the sculpted book offers a different kind of survival: a medieval queen still holding something a visitor can recognize at a glance.
Eleanor across languages
One shared root links 9 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Occitan Aliénor, Eleanor of Aquitaine's name; the old derivation from Helen is now doubted, and "light" is tradition rather than certainty
The constellation
More branches
Eleanor in song
Eleanor Rigby
The Beatles (1966)
A string octet and no Beatles instruments at all, telling the story of a woman who dies alone and is buried with her name.
How popular is Eleanor around the world?
In the United States, 41,998 babies were named Eleanor between 2020 and 2025.
Eleanor is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, New South Wales, France, Austria, Mexico City, Chile, Poland, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 520
In the United States, 41,998 babies were named Eleanor between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Eleanor peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 660
In Canada, 550 girls named Eleanor were born in 2024, the 31st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 7402017
In South Australia, 25 girls were registered as Eleanor in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 750
In England and Wales, 776 girls named Eleanor were born in 2025, the 56th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 890
In New Zealand, 65 girls named Eleanor were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 1,200
In Scotland, 39 girls named Eleanor were registered in 2024, the 113th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 1,200
In Ireland, 44 girls named Eleanor were born in 2025, the 106th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New South Wales
#31 · 2025
In New South Wales, 169 girls named Eleanor were registered in 2025, ranked 31st in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
France
1 in 7,200
In France, about 90 girls named Eleanor were born in 2025, the 514th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Eleanor, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 7,600
In Austria, 10 girls named Eleanor were born in 2025, the 474th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
1 in 24,000
In Mexico City, there were 5 registrations of Eleanor in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 36,000
In Chile, 5 girls were registered as Eleanor in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 girls named Eleanor were born in 2025, the 706th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Spain
1 in 270,000
In Spain, 164 residents are named Eleanor, ranked 5,199th among women, with a mean age of 30.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Eleanor in 2024.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 106 people in Brazil were named Eleanor, ranked 39,630th, with a median age of 38.
Among people named Eleanor living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 27 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1997
Eleanor is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Puerto Rico
last on record 2023
Eleanor is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 5 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
Names like Eleanor · Names that go with Eleanor · Nicknames for Eleanor · Middle names for Eleanor · Names of kings and queens
The Eleanor deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Eleanor truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Eleanor fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Eleanor
Does Eleanor really mean “light, compassionate”?
No. Eleanor is the Old French form of the Occitan Alienor, and its origin is uncertain. The most cited story has Eleanor of Aquitaine named for her mother Aenor as alia Aenor, the other Aenor, though bearers seem to predate her. Light and compassionate are meanings borrowed from Helen and from sound, not from this name's root.
Source: Behind the Name
What middle names go with Eleanor?
Barb (a single beat to anchor Eleanor's 3), Kate (a single beat to anchor Eleanor's 3), and Nell (a single beat to anchor Eleanor's 3). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Eleanor.
Is Eleanor too popular right now?
Eleanor is very common right now and still rising. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 8 out of 10, up from 3 in the 2000s. The 2020s are its peak so far. Before the 2000s it appears in every decade of the published lists, from 2,750 girls in its thinnest decade to 74,760 in the 1920s.
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