girl's name
Aliénor
ah-lyay-NOR
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 6,147
France
#144
2025 births
Aliénor is a girl's name and the original French form of Eleanor, carried by the woman who was queen of France and then of England. It ranks 144th in France and is at its peak in our records now.
- Aliénor is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2025, when 365 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,615 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1970.
Aliénor over time
Births per decade in France, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 80 |
| 1980s | 435 |
| 1990s | 920 |
| 2000s | 1,235 |
| 2010s | 1,630 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,810 |
What Aliénor means
Aliénor has no settled meaning. The traditional explanation — that it was coined to mean the other Aenor, after her mother — is a medieval story rather than a derivation, and the alternatives proposed since are no firmer.
Where Aliénor comes from
Aliénor is the Occitan and Old French form behind the English Eleanor. The best-known explanation is that Eleanor of Aquitaine was born Aenor, after her mother, and called alia Aenor, the other Aenor, which contracted to Aliénor. That story is charming, medieval, and almost certainly invented after the fact; a Germanic root and an Arabic one have both been proposed instead and neither is secure. Its bearer is the point regardless: Eleanor of Aquitaine, duchess in her own right, married Louis VII of France, had the marriage annulled, married Henry II of England eight weeks later, bore Richard the Lionheart and King John, was imprisoned by her husband for sixteen years for backing her sons' rebellion, and outlived almost everyone. She is the reason the name exists in England at all.
Aliénor in use
Aliénor ranks 144th in France with about 365 births in 2025 and is at its peak in our records this year — a name at its high point rather than a revival past it. Our records carry it from 1970, which is remarkably late for a name with eight centuries of history behind it. It is rare elsewhere at 5,833rd in England and Wales, where Eleanor carries the demand.
How popular is Aliénor?
In 2025, Aliénor was given to 365 babies in France, ranking #144 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Aliénor is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Aliénor is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Alienor | Alienor is a spelling of Aliénor, used in the United States, where it ranks #13,428. | 2,702 |
Names that peaked alongside Aliénor
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Aliénor also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Aliénor over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Aliénor in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Spanish
- Leonor
Sibling names for Aliénor
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Aliénor — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Aliénor
What does the name Aliénor mean?
It is unsettled. The "other Aenor" story is medieval rather than a real derivation.
Is Aliénor the French for Eleanor?
It is the original form — Eleanor is the English development of it.
Who was Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Queen of France and then of England, mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John, imprisoned for sixteen years.
How do you pronounce Aliénor?
ah-lyay-NOR, three syllables.
Is Aliénor a girl's or a boy's name?
Aliénor is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Aliénor most popular?
Aliénor peaked in 2025, when 365 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Aliénor a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Aliénor currently ranks #144 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.