Meaning of Eleanor, What does Eleanor mean? (2024)

What does Eleanor mean?

PronounceEleanor

[ 3 syll. e-lea-nor, el-ean-or ] The baby girl name Eleanor is pronounced as EHLLeh-NaoR †.

1: Eleanor is an English name of Old Provençal origin. The meaning of the name is bright one, shining one; ali. The name is of debated origin; it could be from an Old French re-spelling of Aliénor (Old Provençal), which is itself usually taken as a form of Helen or a derivation from the Germanic 'al' or 'ali' (meaning foreign, other). Eleanor could also be of Greek or Arabic roots.

The name Ali�nor was first introduced to England from France when the wealthy and powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) married Henry II. Two subsequent queens also bore the name, further promoting its popularity in the Middle Ages. Eleanor of Provence (1223-1291) was the wife of Henry III. Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290) was the wife of Edward I; after her death, the king erected Eleanor crosses in her memory, of which three still remain in eastern England. The form Leonora was later made known as the original title of Beethoven's opera Fidelio (1805). Various forms of the name were made known by characters in literature, notably Elinor Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1811), and Nell Trent in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop (1841). In addition, Lenore (1843) was a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.

What are the Variant Forms of Eleanor?


Eleanor is a widely used name; it has 115 derivatives that are used in English and other languages. Derivatives of Eleanor used in English include Aleanor, Alienor, Alinah, Aline, Eilidh, Eilinora, Eilinore, Eilionoir, Eilionoira, Elaine, Elan, Elanee, Elaney, Elani, Elania, Elanie, Elanna, Elanni, Elanore, Ele, Eleanora, Eleinor, Eleinora, Elen, Elena, Elenie, Elenora, Elenorah, Eleny, and Eleonor (also used in Spanish). Other English forms include the short forms El, Elana, Elea, Elli (also used in German), Elly, Lena (also used in German, Russian, and Scandinavian), and Lenore (also used in Russian), the familiar forms Ella (also used in Scandinavian), Elle, Ellen (also used in Dutch and Scandinavian), Ellie, Elora, Leora, Nell, Nelle, Nelli (also used in German, Hungarian,), Nellie, Nelly, Nora (also used in German, Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, and Scottish), Norah (also used in Irish), and Nore, and the variant spellings Elanor, Eleanore, Elenor (also used in Spanish), Elenore, Elinor, Elinore, Ellenor, and Ellinor (also used in Scandinavian).

Foreign derivatives include Eileanoir (Irish), Eileanóra (Irish), Eleonoora (Finnish), Eleonore (German), Eléonore (French), Elke (Yiddish), Elna (Dutch and Scandinavian), Leonor (Portuguese and Spanish), Leonora (German, Greek, and Italian), Leonore (German), Lore (German), Nelida (Hebrew and Spanish), Noora (Finnish), Norina (Italian), and Nóirín (Irish). Specific foreign variants include the familiar forms Eleni (Greek) and Lora (Italian).

2: Eleanor's origin is Old Greek. It is derived from the element 'eleos' which means mercy, pity.

3: Eleanor's origin is Arabic. Meaning: 'god is my light'.

Eleanor is a derivative of the English name Helen.

See also the related categories, queens, god, death, light (sun), english, greek, powerful, bright, pity, opera, wife (sister), memory, literature, dickens, french, england, and arabic.

Eleanor is a very popular baby girl name, and it is also regarded as trendy. At the height of its usage in 1915, 0.687% of baby girls were named Eleanor. It was #28 in rank then. The baby name has seen a steep drop in popularity since then. In 2018, it ranked at #32 with a usage of 0.308%, somewhat regaining its popularity in the recent decade. Within all girl names in its family, Eleanor was the 3rd most popular after Ella and Nora. Ella was 41% more commonly used than Eleanor in 2018.

Baby names that sound like Eleanor include Eleanore, Elenor, Elenore, Eleonor, Elanor, Eléonore, Elinor, Ellynor, Elmira, Elnora, Elynor, Elynore, Eleanora, Elenora, Eleonore, Elienor, Elinoar, Elinore, Elionor, and Alienor.

† Pronunciation for Eleanor: EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AO as in "ought (AO.T)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)"

Details of famous persons named Eleanor:
Actress Eleanor Bron, born 14 March 1938, Stanmore, London, England.
Author Eleanor Farjeon, born February 13, 1881 - June 5, 1965, England.
Author Jean Plaidy, born Eleanor Alice Burford 1 September 1906, Kensington, London, England.
Model Elle MacPherson, born Eleanor Nancy Gow 29 March 1964, Sydney, Australia.
Political Relative Eleanor Mondale, born 1960, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Royalty Eleanor of Aquitaine, born 1122 - 1204, Bordeaux, France.
US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith 18 August 1927, Plains, Georgia.
US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, born 11 October 1884 - 7 November 1962, New York, New York.

More about famous people named Eleanor
More about famous characters named Eleanor
Meaning of EleanorMeaning of EleanorMeaning of EleanorMeaning of LenoreMeaning of LenaMeaning of EllenMeaning of NoraMeaning of EllaMeaning of EllieMeaning of LoraMeaning of NellMeaning of ElanorMeaning of ElenoreMeaning of EllenorMeaning of NelidaMeaning of LoreMeaning of LéonoreMeaning of AlineMeaning of EilidhMeaning of EleMeaning of ElkeMeaning of Helen

Meaning of Eleanor, What does Eleanor mean? (2)

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Meaning of Eleanor, What does Eleanor mean? (2024)
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