Elenor
Variant of "Eleanor", a feminine name of Old French origin meaning "bright, shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 695 living Americans carry the first name Elenor. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elenor today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elenor births was 1921 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elenor. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
695
~ 1 in 493,172 Americans
Peak year
1921
67 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,476
Tracked since 1883
Popularity
Elenor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elenor from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 522 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elenor by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elenor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elenors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan recorded the most babies named Elenor, while New Jersey, Wisconsin, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elenor
The name Elenor originates from the Old French form "Elienor", derived from the Occitan word "alia" meaning "other". It is a variation of the name Eleanor, which has its roots in the Provençal name "Alienor". The earliest recorded use of this name dates back to the 12th century.
Elenor gained widespread recognition and popularity due to its association with the renowned Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), one of the most powerful and influential figures of the Middle Ages. As the Duchess of Aquitaine and later the Queen of England, her legacy played a significant role in the dissemination of this name.
In literature, the name Elenor appeared in works such as Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" (late 14th century), where it was used for one of the characters, the Wife of Bath. This literary reference contributed to the name's enduring presence in the English-speaking world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals bore the name Elenor. One such example is Elenor Audley (1318-1367), an English noblewoman who served as the Lady of the Garter and held significant landholdings during the reign of Edward III.
Another prominent figure was Elenor Ramsey (1516-1547), a Scottish courtier and one of the four mistresses of King James V of Scotland. She played a role in the political and cultural landscape of 16th-century Scotland.
In the realm of literature, Elenor Wylie (1885-1928) was an American poet and novelist celebrated for her lyrical and imaginative works, including "Nets to Catch the Wind" and "Black Armour".
Elenor Farjeon (1881-1965) was a British author and playwright known for her children's stories and novels, such as "Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard" and "The Little Bookroom".
Lastly, Elenor Smeal (born 1939) is an American feminist activist and political organizer who played a pivotal role in the modern women's rights movement, serving as the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1977 to 1982.
People
Elenor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elenor as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elenor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elenor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 695 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elenor going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 493,172 US residents.
Is Elenor a common name?
We classify Elenor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,228 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elenor most popular?
The single biggest year for Elenor was 1921, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elenor is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elenor a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elenor in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.