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 Anglosphere during the first half of the 20th century, but declined in use until the late 20th century and first decades of the 21st century. It has been a well-used name in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand during the 2020s. Eleanor was the third most popular name for newborn girls born to white mothers in the U.S. state of Virginia in 2024, but was a less popular name for girls born to mothers from other groups. Eleanor was the ninth most popular name overall for newborn girls in Virginia in 2024.
Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving first lady of the U.S., was probably the most famous bearer of the name in contemporary history.
Spelling variants include Elanor, Eleonore, Elinor, Ellenor and others. A common variant is Eleonora/Eleanora. Common hypocorisms include Eleana, Elle, Ella, Ellie, Elly, Leonor, Leonora, Leonore, Nell, Nella, Nellie, Nelly, and Nora.
Origin
The name derives from the Provençal name Aliénor, which became Éléonore 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,The suggestion of alia Aenor was considered "ridiculous" by Gilles Ménage in his Histoire De Sable (1683, p. 70). 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.
Variants Breton: Azenor Catalan: Elionor Czech: Eleonora, Eleanor, Eleonor Danish: Ellinor, Leonora Dutch, Polish, Latvian: Eleonora English: Eleanor, Elinor Estonian: Eleonoora, Ellinor Finnish: Eleonora, Eleonoora, Elli, Leonora, Noora, Nora French: Eléonore, Éléonore, Léonore, Elléonore, Eléanor, Éléanor, Éléanore, Aliénor, Aénor German: Eleonore Greek: Ελεονώρα Hungarian, Slovak: Eleonóra Indonesian: Eleanor, Eleonora, Leonora Irish: Eileanóra, Elienor Italian: Eleonora, Leonora Occitan: Alienor, Alienòr Portuguese: Leonora, Leonor Provençal: Lenoa, Leno Spanish: Leonor Swedish: Eleanora, Ellinor, Elleonore, Elna Turkish: Elanur Welsh: Elinor
Notable people People with the given name Eleanor Medieval Eleanor of Alburquerque (1374–1435), Castilian noblewoman, Countess of Alburquerque and wife of Ferdinand I of Aragon Eleanor of Anjou (1289–1341), daughter of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, and wife of Frederick III of Sicily Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122–1204), wife of Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, mother of Richard I and King John Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile (1358–1382), wife of John I of Castile Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus (1333–1417), wife of Peter I of Cyprus Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (1402–1445), wife of Edward I of Portugal Eleanor of Arborea (1347–1404), Sardinian judge Eleanor of Austria (1498–1558), Queen consort of Portugal (1516–1521) and of France (1530–1547) Eleanor of Brittany (abbess) (1285–1342), granddaughter of Eleanor of Provence and Henry III, and later Abbess of Fontevraud Eleanor of Castile (1307–1359), wife of Alfonso IV of Aragon Eleanor of Castile (1202–1244), wife of James I of Aragon Eleanor of Castile (1241–1290), wife of Edward I of England, mother of Edward II Eleanor of Castile (died 1416), wife of Charles III of Navarre Eleanor of Champagne (1102–1147), wife of Ralph I, Count of Vermandois 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 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 England, Queen of Castile (1161–1214), daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine; wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile Eleanor of Lancaster (1318–1372), Lady Beaumont and Countess of Arundel Eleanor of Naples (1450–1493), wife of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Eleanor of Navarre (1426–1479), wife of Gaston IV, Count of Foix Eleanor of Normandy (b. 1011/1013, d. after 1071), daughter of Richard II of Normandy Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (1434–1467), wife of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark (1211–1231), Portuguese infanta and wife of Valdemar the Young Eleanor of Provence (1222–1291), wife of Henry III of England, mother of Edward I Eleanor of Scotland (1433–1480), wife of Sigismund, Archduke of Austria Eleanor of Sicily (1349–1375), wife of Peter IV of Aragon Eleanor of Toledo (1522–1562), Spanish noblewoman and Duchess and Regent of Florence (1539) Eleanor of Viseu (1458–1525), wife of John II of Portugal Eleanor of Woodstock (1318–1355), daughter of Edward II, wife of Reynold II, Count of Gelderland Eleanor Butler, Countess of Desmond (c. 1545 – 1636), wife of Gerald FitzGerald Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland (1519–1547), wife of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland Eleanor de Bohun (1366–1399), Duchess of Gloucester, Duchess of Aumale, Countess of Buckingham and Countess of Essex Eleanor de Bohun (1304– 1363), Countess of Ormonde Eleanor de Clare (1292–1337), granddaughter of Edward I of England and wife of Hugh Despenser the Younger Eleanor de Guzmán (1310–1351), Castilian noblewoman and mistress of Alfonso XI of Castile Eleanor de' Medici (1567–1611), Duchess of Mantua by marriage to Vincenzo I Gonzaga Eleanor de Montfort (1252–1282), Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon, wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Eleanor, Countess of Vermandois (c. 1149–1213) Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester (1400–1452), mistress and then second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, sentenced to life imprisonment for treasonable necromancy Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (1184–1241), daughter of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany Eleanor FitzAlan (c. 1284 – July/August 1328), wife of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisbury (1386 – after 1413), wife of Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury John/Eleanor Rykener, a 14th-century (possibly transgender) prostitute
Modern Eleanor Hallowell Abbott (1872–1958), American author Eleanor Abrams (1885–1967), American painter Eleanor D. Acheson, American lawyer Eleanor Acland (1878–1933), British Liberal Party politician Eleanor R. Adair (1926–2013), American scientist Eleanor Adviento (born 1995), New Zealand curler Eleanor E. Ahlers (1911–1997), American teacher and librarian Eleanor Alberga (born 1949), Jamaican contemporary music composer Eleanor Jane Alexander (1857–1939), poet and novelist Eleanor Allan (born 1937), Scottish lawn bowler Eleanor Aller (1917–1995), American cellist Eleanor Ames, known as Eleanor Kirk (1831–1908), American author, businesswoman, newspaper publisher, and suffragist Eleanor Antin (born 1935), American artist and filmmaker Eleanor Arnason (born 1942), American writer of science fiction novels and short stories Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson (1863–1942), American novelist Eleanor Audley (1905–1991), American actress Eleanor Southey Baker McLaglan (1879–1969), New Zealand doctor Eleanor Baldwin Cass (1874–1966), American fencer Eleanor Cunningham Bannister (1858–1939), American portrait painter Eleanor Barnes, British physician Eleanor Barooshian (1950–2016), American musician Eleanor Barraclough, British cultural historian and writer Eleanor Barton (1872–1960), British co-operative movement activist Eleanor Bauer, American choreographer and dancer Eleanor K. Baum, American electrical engineer Eleanor Beardsley, French society, politics, economics, culture, history, business affairs, sport and gastronomy for National Public Radio Eleanor Begtang (born 1964), Filipino politician Eleanor Robson Belmont (1879–1979), English actress Eleanor Marion Bennett (born 1942), Australian botanist Eleanor Bergstein (born 1938), American screenwriter Eleanor Berwick (born 1943), English retired vintner Eleanor Best, British painter Eleanor Bezzina (born 1977), Maltese sports shooter Eleanor Bisbee (1893–1956), American writer Eleanor Bishop, New Zealand stage director, producer and playwright Eleanor Blackmore (1873–1943), British baptist missionary Eleanor Taylor Bland (1944–2010), African-American writer Eleanor Blevins (1894–1973), early American actress Eleanor Albert Bliss (1899–1987), American bacteriologist Eleanor Boardman (1898–1991), American actress Eleanor Bodel (born 1948), Swedish singer Eleanor Bond (born 1948), Canadian artist and art educator Eleanor Bontecou (1891–1976), American lawyer Eleanor Bor (1898–1957), British writer Eleanor Elizabeth Bourne (1878–1957), Australian medical doctor Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825–1916), British artist Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd (1868–1942), American writer Eleanor Brass (1905–1992), Canadian writer Eleanor Bron (born 1938), British actress and author Eleanor Brown (born 1973), American novelist Eleanor Brown (footballer) (born 2000), Australian rules footballer Eleanor Gertrude Brown (c. 1888–1964), American Milton scholar and educator Eleanor Bufton (1842–1893), Welsh actress Eleanor Alice Burford (1906–1993), English author Eleanor Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democratic politician Eleanor Burns (born 1945), American quilter Eleanor Howard, Countess of Wicklow (1914–1997), Irish architect and politician Eleanor Caines (1880–1913), American actress Eleanor Calbes (1940–2016), Filipina soprano Eleanor Harper Caldwell, American film editor Eleanor Callow (1927–1974), Canadian baseball player Eleanor Jane Taylor Calverley, American medical missionary Eleanor Cameron (1912–1996), Canadian-American children's writer Eleanor Campbell, several people Eleanor Cardozo (born 1965), British sculptor Eleanor Cardwell (born 1994), English netball player Eleanor Carey (1852–1915), American actress