Elenora
A feminine name derived from Helen, meaning "bright one" or "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the first name Elenora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elenora today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elenora births was 1917 (119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elenora. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elenora with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
850
~ 1 in 403,240 Americans
Peak year
1917
119 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,792
Tracked since 1880
Census
Elenora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 947 people with the first name Elenora, which placed it at #12,930 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,930
National first-name rank
People counted
947
947 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elenora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elenora is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Elenora described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Elenora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.8% · 566
- Black or African American26.1% · 247
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 61
- Two or more races3.8% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 10
Popularity
Elenora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elenora 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 826 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
Elenora 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 Elenora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elenoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Elenora, while Oklahoma, California, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elenora
The name Elenora has its roots in the Greek language, originating from the combination of the words "helios" (meaning sun) and "noor" (meaning light). This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals born during daylight or associated with the radiance of the sun. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to ancient Greece, around the 5th century BC.
One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Elenora of Sparta, a renowned philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BC. She was celebrated for her contributions to the study of geometry and her innovative teaching methods. Her works, though now lost, were highly regarded in her time and influenced generations of scholars.
In the Middle Ages, the name Elenora gained popularity among European nobility. One notable figure was Elenora of Aquitaine (1122-1204), a powerful and influential Duchess who played a significant role in the political and cultural landscape of her era. Her court was a center of learning and artistic patronage, attracting scholars and artists from across Europe.
During the Renaissance period, the name Elenora was associated with figures in the arts and literature. Elenora Grillo (1458-1530), an Italian poet and writer, was praised for her eloquent works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her sonnets and poetry were widely circulated and influenced other writers of her time.
In more recent history, the name Elenora has been carried by several notable individuals. Elenora Duse (1858-1924) was an Italian actress renowned for her pioneering work in naturalistic acting techniques. Her performances were highly praised for their emotional depth and nuance, and she is considered one of the greatest actresses of the 19th century.
Another prominent figure was Elenora Roosevelt (1884-1962), the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. She was a dedicated advocate for civil rights, human rights, and social justice, and her work had a profound impact on shaping American society and politics during her lifetime.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Elenora, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human achievement.
People
Elenora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elenora 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
Elenora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elenora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 850 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elenora 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 403,240 US residents.
Is Elenora a common name?
We classify Elenora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,614 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elenora most popular?
The single biggest year for Elenora was 1917, when 119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elenora is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elenora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 947 people with the name Elenora, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,930 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Elenora in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Elenora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elenora appears almost entirely female. Of the 947 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Elenora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elenora is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Elenora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elenora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.8% (566 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elenora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elenora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elenora 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.
Is Elenora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elenora in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elenora can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Elenora?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.