Eleonora
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "bright, shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 955 living Americans carry the first name Eleonora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eleonora today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eleonora births was 2024 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eleonora. 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
955
~ 1 in 358,905 Americans
Peak year
2024
69 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,558
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Eleonora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eleonora from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 296 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eleonora 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 Eleonora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eleonoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Eleonora, while Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eleonora
Eleonora is a feminine given name with Greek origins, derived from the Greek words "helios" meaning "sun" and "noor" meaning "light". It is a variant spelling of the name Eleanor, which has been in use since the Middle Ages.
The name Eleonora can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was popular among the nobility in various parts of Europe. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Eleonora of Aquitaine, who was born in 1122 and became the Queen of France through her marriage to King Louis VII.
Eleonora was also a common name among the royalty of Italy and Spain. Eleonora of Aragon, born in 1450, was the daughter of the King of Naples and became the Queen of Portugal through her marriage to King John II. Eleonora of Toledo, born in 1553, was the daughter of the Viceroy of Naples and became the Duchess of Florence through her marriage to Cosimo I de' Medici.
In the literary world, the name Eleonora is most famously associated with Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Eleonora", published in 1841. The story is a poetic exploration of love, loss, and the afterlife, with the titular character serving as the protagonist's idealized love interest.
Other notable women named Eleonora throughout history include Eleonora Duse, an Italian actress born in 1858, who was considered one of the greatest tragedians of her time. Eleonora Randolph, born in 1792, was an American socialite and the daughter of Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., a prominent Virginian politician.
In the realm of music, Eleonora Abbagnato, born in 1976, is an Italian ballerina and the Étoile Principal Dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet. Eleonora Fonseca Pimentel, born in 1752, was a Neapolitan poet and philosopher who played a significant role in the Italian Enlightenment.
People
Eleonora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eleonora 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
Eleonora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eleonora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 955 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eleonora 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 358,905 US residents.
Is Eleonora a common name?
We classify Eleonora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,556 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eleonora most popular?
The single biggest year for Eleonora was 2024, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eleonora is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eleonora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eleonora 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.