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Eleanor

Gender
Girl
Say it
EL-e-nor
Origin
French
UK rank, 2025
#59 for girls
US rank, 2025
#12 for girls
Style
Timeless

Eleanor is a girls' name of French origin. In 2025 it ranked 59th for girls in the UK (826 babies) and 12th for girls in the US (7,649 babies).

What does Eleanor mean?

French: from Old French Aliénor, from Occitan, of uncertain meaning

Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of both France and England, brought the name to England in the 12th century.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Eleanor a girl's or a boy's name?

Eleanor is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 826 girls in the UK and 7,649 girls and 5 boys in the US.

How popular is Eleanor in the UK?

Rank in 2025
59th among girls
Babies in 2025
826 about 1 in 340 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 21% in five years
Same name in a class
4.1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 826 girls in the UK were named Eleanor, making it the 59th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 59th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 2,787 girls.

Half of all the girls named Eleanor in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

In 2025, 874 girls in the UK were given Eleanor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #64.

Among girls in 2025, it was 56th in England and Wales, 116th in Scotland and 154th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#52), 1914 (#67), 1924 (#89), 1984 (#76), 1994 (#32), 2004 (#29), 2014 (#60) and 2024 (#67).

1996Busiest: 2,787 in 19972025
Eleanor in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025826#59
2024724#71
2023806#61
2022833#66
2021967#58
2020948#59
20191,019#60
20181,026#62
20171,079#59
20161,193#57
20151,141#59
20141,079#63
20131,077#61
20121,028#67
20111,076#61
20101,021#69
20091,118#64
20081,200#61
20071,268#56
20061,430#44
20051,362#48
20041,720#30
20031,880#30
20021,994#27
20011,991#29
20002,112#27
19992,536#21
19982,775#19
19972,787#23
19962,604#23

How popular is Eleanor in the US?

Rank in 2025
12th among girls
Babies in 2025
7,649 about 1 in 210 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 18% in five years
Same name in a class
6.5% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 7,649 girls in the US were named Eleanor, making it the 12th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 22nd. Its busiest year was 1920, with 8,497 girls. 5 boys were also named Eleanor in 2025 (12,003rd for boys).

2025 had more girls named Eleanor than any year since 1925.

Half of all the girls named Eleanor in the US since 1880 were born between 1921 and 2008, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 8,294 girls in the US were given Eleanor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #14.

1880Busiest: 8,497 in 19202025
Eleanor in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20257,649#12
20247,147#14
20236,765#14
20226,927#16
20217,099#15
20206,379#22
20196,198#27
20185,728#32
20175,549#36
20165,140#41
20154,442#60
20143,740#78
20133,013#106
20122,383#134
20112,085#150
20101,851#166
20091,486#218
20081,343#255
20071,272#266
20061,221#269
20051,237#264
20041,063#301
20031,007#308
2002961#319
2001826#359
2000771#375
1999688#404
1998720#386
1997537#465
1996487#490
1995437#543
1994390#585
1993445#537
1992395#585
1991394#583
1990378#598
1989357#599
1988309#642
1987290#648
1986263#692
1985270#670
1984244#687
1983263#656
1982265#669
1981270#655
1980258#676
1979276#630
1978269#624
1977228#688
1976257#609
1975234#650
1974228#665
1973266#591
1972301#552
1971325#554
1970366#522
1969359#518
1968408#475
1967443#451
1966473#431
1965603#372
1964648#377
1963667#376
1962763#341
1961749#348
1960825#328
1959865#315
1958864#305
1957962#292
19561,044#263
19551,043#257
19541,117#242
19531,254#227
19521,249#218
19511,296#210
19501,371#199
19491,517#183
19481,664#169
19471,853#158
19461,933#139
19451,876#130
19442,190#122
19432,729#107
19423,165#87
19413,250#78
19403,584#68
19393,810#63
19384,049#60
19374,275#53
19364,341#47
19354,166#48
19344,718#44
19335,106#38
19324,836#45
19315,255#40
19305,823#39
19295,865#38
19286,535#36
19276,963#33
19267,305#32
19257,724#31
19248,193#29
19237,772#28
19227,852#28
19218,054#29
19208,497#25
19197,611#30
19188,176#26
19177,669#26
19167,406#27
19157,036#28
19145,374#28
19133,938#34
19123,120#39
19112,035#49
19101,798#55
19091,460#57
19081,302#65
19071,155#67
19061,088#67
19051,041#73
1904868#80
1903840#79
1902837#79
1901686#84
1900753#88
1899575#94
1898620#95
1897559#95
1896493#102
1895544#98
1894450#108
1893397#110
1892389#116
1891376#103
1890351#117
1889312#123
1888288#128
1887247#122
1886271#114
1885222#119
1884198#124
1883185#114
1882174#117
1881110#142
1880129#126

Nicknames for Eleanor

Names like Eleanor

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Emma, Charlotte, Alice, Sophie, Harriet, Lucy, Eloise, Georgia, Elizabeth, Emily, Ella, Ellie

Other spellings of Eleanor

Elinor, Elanor, Eleanore, Ellenor, Elleanor, Ellanor, Elenor, Ellinor, Elenore, Ellenore

Names related to Eleanor

Eleanora, Eleonora, Eleonore, Eleonor, Elenora

More French names

Beau, Esme, Darcie, Darcy, Genevieve, Amy, Esmae, Arleth, Elle, Russell, Monty, Mallory, Percy, Lacey, Belle, Quincy

Every French name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Eleanor: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/eleanor, updated 20 October 2026.