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Elinor

Gender
Girl
Say it
EL-i-nor
Origin
French
UK rank, 2025
#1,247 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,500 for girls

Elinor is a girls' name of French origin. In 2025 it ranked 1,247th for girls in the UK (27 babies) and 1,500th for girls in the US (142 babies).

What does Elinor mean?

French: spelling of Eleanor

Elinor Dashwood is the sensible elder sister in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

More on Wiktionary.

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

Elinor is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 27 girls in the UK and 142 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Elinor in the UK?

Rank in 2025
1,247th among girls
Babies in 2025
27 about 1 in 10,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 24% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 27 girls in the UK were named Elinor, making it the 1,247th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,033rd. Its busiest year was 1996, with 139 girls.

Half of all the girls named Elinor in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2013. 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 Elinor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #64, up from #1,247 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 1,197th in England and Wales.

1996Busiest: 139 in 19962025
Elinor in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202527#1,247
202421#1,538
202330#1,178
202227#1,283
202131#1,162
202035#1,033
201935#1,058
201832#1,148
201734#1,104
201643#930
201541#960
201432#1,149
201333#1,142
201238#1,019
201136#1,039
201036#1,004
200930#1,127
200862#658
200730#1,057
200648#720
200562#581
200463#556
2003104#388
200271#484
200173#461
200090#398
199990#399
1998132#308
1997131#308
1996139#289

How popular is Elinor in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,500th among girls
Babies in 2025
142 about 1 in 11,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 3% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 142 girls in the US were named Elinor, making it the 1,500th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,485th. Its busiest year was 1920, with 656 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Elinor than any year since 2013.

Half of all the girls named Elinor in the US since 1880 were born between 1920 and 1948, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 8,294 girls in the US were given Elinor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #14, up from #1,500 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 656 in 19202025
Elinor in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025142#1,500
2024146#1,492
2023164#1,373
2022176#1,336
2021172#1,312
2020144#1,485
2019162#1,383
2018159#1,406
2017165#1,392
2016171#1,371
2015165#1,409
2014144#1,519
2013120#1,725
2012134#1,612
201199#1,982
2010105#1,913
200996#2,102
2008102#2,032
200783#2,311
200675#2,459
200565#2,603
200471#2,393
200364#2,519
200271#2,285
200157#2,631
200049#2,899
199966#2,255
199854#2,527
199748#2,619
199644#2,756
199554#2,389
199427#3,887
199332#3,417
199227#3,860
199131#3,437
199022#4,375
198932#3,247
198824#3,800
198724#3,621
198626#3,358
198517#4,453
198428#3,068
198314#4,883
198218#4,166
198128#3,066
198021#3,718
197924#3,333
197828#2,859
197721#3,485
197611#5,213
197518#3,636
197423#3,008
19739#5,578
197230#2,398
197127#2,665
197026#2,705
196932#2,254
196826#2,431
196726#2,376
196631#2,093
196540#1,801
196441#1,835
196348#1,648
196248#1,626
196157#1,480
196068#1,337
195953#1,477
195855#1,434
195765#1,315
195680#1,159
195589#1,070
195476#1,133
1953100#943
1952121#830
1951110#855
195087#970
1949125#771
1948129#746
1947131#746
1946155#632
1945121#673
1944162#576
1943204#524
1942262#458
1941255#430
1940285#407
1939267#413
1938301#384
1937298#373
1936340#339
1935354#336
1934409#310
1933441#287
1932378#326
1931465#288
1930509#296
1929527#281
1928523#287
1927604#269
1926607#271
1925542#287
1924595#268
1923556#273
1922539#277
1921612#269
1920656#257
1919589#263
1918571#265
1917548#265
1916580#252
1915508#259
1914358#275
1913279#281
1912268#275
1911176#295
1910133#343
1909116#336
190891#375
1907100#354
190669#411
190561#430
190452#450
190340#504
190234#559
190141#467
190052#468
189927#593
189839#491
189734#497
189634#504
189524#622
189427#557
189334#455
189215#762
189120#589
189023#548
188924#516
188821#548
188711#693
188616#556
188518#500
188413#583
18837#754
188210#596
18818#623
18809#580

Nicknames for Elinor

Names like Elinor

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

Emma, Eloise, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Harriet, Evelyn, Georgia, Alice, Naomi, Elsie, Ella, Josephine

Other spellings of Elinor

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

Names related to Elinor

Elenora, Elnora

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, “Elinor: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/elinor, updated 20 October 2026.