Eleanor

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.
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.
Variants
Breton: Azenor
Danish: Ellinor, Leonora
English: Eleanor, Elinor
Estonian: Eleonoora, Ellinor
French: Eléonore, Éléonore, Léonore, Elléonore, Eléanor, Éléanor, Éléanore, Aliénor, Aénor
German: Eleonore
Greek: Ελεονώρα
Hungarian, Slovak: Eleonóra
Irish: Eileanóra, Elienor
Italian: Eleonora, Leonora
Dutch, Polish, Latvian: Eleonora
Occitan: Alienor, Alienòr
Portuguese: Leonora, Leonor
Provençal: Lenoa, Leno
Spanish: Leonor
Swedish: Eleanora, Ellinor, Elleonore, Elna
Welsh: Elinor
Notable people
Medieval
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
Leonor Telles de Menezes (1350–1386), wife of Ferdinand I of Portugal
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
Elleanor Eldridge (c.1784-c.1845), African American/Native American entrepreneur
Eleanor Anne Porden (1795–1825), English poet
Eleanor Macomber (1801–1840), missionary, teacher
Eleonora Duse (1858 –1924), Italian actress
Ellinor Aiki (1893–1969), Estonian painter
Eleanor Audley (1905–1991), American actress
Eleanor Boardman (1898–1991), American actress
Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American political hostess
Eleonora Chiavarelli (1915–2010), wife of Aldo Moro
Eleanor Glanville (1654–1709), English entomologist and naturalist
Elinor Glyn (1864–1943), British novelist
Eleanor Gwynn (known colloquially as "Nell") (1650-1687), Restoration actress and mistress of Charles II of England
Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, its reigning queen 1719-1720
Eleonora, three 17th century Swedish queens consort
Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess
Elinor Lawless (born 1983), Northern Irish actress
Eleanor Maria Easterbrook Ames (1831-1908), American writer, publisher
Eleanor Marx (1855–1898), British writer and daughter of Karl Marx
Eleanor Modrakowska (1879–1955), American painter
Eleanor Porter (1868–1920), American novelist
Eleanor Rathbone (1872–1946), British politician
Elenore Abbott (1875–1935), American painter and book illustrator
Elinore Pruitt Stewart (1876–1933), American homesteader in Wyoming and memoirist
Eleanour Sinclair Rohde (1881-1950), British garden designer
Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965), British writer
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), First Lady of U.S., wife of President Franklin Roosevelt
Eleanor Soltau (1877–1962), English doctor
Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), American writer
Eleanor Butler Roosevelt (1888-1960), American philanthropist
Eleanor Wilson McAdoo (1889-1967), American author and the youngest daughter of President U.S. Woodrow Wilson
Eleanor Lansing Dulles (1895–1996), American economist and diplomat
Eleanor Agnes Lee (1841–1873), diarist, poet, and daughter of Robert E. Lee
Elinor Fair (1903–1957), American actress
Eleanor Campbell King (1906–1991), American modern dancer and choreographer
Eleanor Hibbert (1906–1993), British novelist
Elinor Smith (1911–2010), American aviator
Eleanor Powell (1912–1982), American tap dancer and actress
Eleanor Ruggles (1916-2008), American biographer
Eleonore Schönborn (1920–2022), Austrian politician
Eleanor Parker (1922-2013), American actress
Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves (born 1927), American librarian, educator, historian, and editor
Eleanor Helin (1932–2009), American astronomer
Elinor Ostrom (1933–2012), American political scientist and Nobel prize winner
Elinor Donahue (born 1937), American actress
Eleanor Duckworth (born 1935), Canadian psychologist and educator
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born 1937), American politician
Eleanor Bron (born 1938), British actress and author
Eleanor Montgomery (1946–2013), American high jumper
Eleanor Bodel (born 1948), Swedish singer
Eleanor Warwick King (born 1957), British appellate court judge
Eleanor Smith (born 1957), British politician
Eleanor Laing (born 1958), British politician
Eleanor McEvoy (born 1967), Irish musician, singer/songwriter
Eleanor Mears (1917–1992), Scottish medical practitioner and campaigner
Elinor Middlemiss (born 1967), Scottish badminton player
Eleanor Friedberger (born 1976), American musician
Eleonora Dziekiewicz (born 1978), Polish volleyball player
Ellie Reeves (born 1980), British politician
Éléonore Caroit (born 1985), French politician
Eleanor James (born 1986), English actress
Eleonora "Ellen" van Dijk (born 1987), Dutch road and track cyclist
Elinor Joseph (born 1991), Israeli soldier
Eleanor Tomlinson (born 1992), English actress
Eleonore von Habsburg (born 1994), Austrian model
Eleanor Lee (born 1999), Singaporean actress, singer and model
Eleanor Worthington Cox (born 2001), English actress
Eleanor Oldroyd (born 1962), British radio broadcaster
Fictional characters
Eleanora, principal woman's role in Strindberg's 1901 play Easter
Ellenore, guest player character portrayed by Marisha Ray in L.A. by Night
Eleanor, supporting character in the video game Rule of Rose
Eleanor, supporting character in the video game The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Eleanor "Ellie" Arroway, in the 1985 novel Contact by Carl Sagan
Elenore Baker, supporting character in the anime Madlax
Ellie Bishop, in the television series NCIS
Eleanor Bonneville, a supporting character from the movie Jigsaw (2017 film)
Eleanor Butterbean, in the television series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
Elinor Dashwood, in the 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Eleanor Douglas, in the 2013 young adult novel Eleanor & Park, written by Rainbow Rowell
Elanor Gardner, daughter of Samwise Gamgee in J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
Princess Eleanor Matilda Henstridge, in the television series The Royals
Eleanor Hume, a main character from the videogame Tales of Berseria
Eleanor Lamb, one of the main protagonists of BioShock 2 by Irrational Games
Eleanor Miller, one of the members of the female chipmunk music artist band The Chipettes
Ellie Nash, in Degrassi: The Next Generation
Eleanor Oliphant, protagonist of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Elinor Rabbit, the titular protagonist often accompanied by Olive and Ari in the animated PBS Kids series Elinor Wonders Why
Eleanor Savage, love interest, therapeutic friend, and conversational other to protagonist Amory Blaine in F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise
Eleanor Shellstrop, the protagonist of American fantasy sitcom The Good Place
Queen Elenoir Siegwald, a character in the Filipino Webtoon series Mage & Demon Queen
Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth Ewing Farlow, the matriarch of the Ewing family in the CBS soap opera Dallas
Eleanor Tilney, in the 1803 novel Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Eleanor of Tristain, in the novels and anime The Familiar of Zero
Elinor Tyrell, handmaid to Margaery Tyrell in the A Song of Ice and Fire series
Eleanor “Nell” Vance, in The Haunting of Hill House
Eleanor Waldorf, mother of a protagonist, Blair Waldorf, in TV series Gossip Girl
Ellie Woodcomb, in the television series Chuck
Queen Elinor, in the Disney/Pixar movie Brave
Music
"Elenore," a 1968 song by The Turtles.
"Eleanor Rigby," a 1966 song by The Beatles.
"Lady Eleanor," a 1971 song by Lindisfarne.
"Eleanor Put Your Boots On", a 2006 song by Franz Ferdinand.
Animals
Eleonora cockatoo, a parrot.
Vehicles
Eleanor (automobile), the vehicle used in Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) as well as the 2000 remake.
See also
Notes
References
French feminine given names
Feminine given names
English feminine given names