girl's name
Éléonore
ay-lay-oh-NOR
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 100 (France)
- Births on record 33,144
France
#92
2025 births
Éléonore is a girl's name whose origin is genuinely disputed, most often explained as "the other Aenor" from a medieval Aquitaine tradition. It ranks ninety-second in France and its peak in our records is the most recent year we hold.
- Éléonore is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2025, when 885 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,062 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Éléonore over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 1,945 |
| 1910s | 1,315 |
| 1920s | 1,115 |
| 1930s | 595 |
| 1940s | 355 |
| 1950s | 390 |
| 1960s | 495 |
| 1970s | 1,120 |
| 1980s | 2,700 |
| 1990s | 3,945 |
| 2000s | 4,620 |
| 2010s | 6,555 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,535 |
What Éléonore means
Éléonore has no settled meaning. The best-known account makes it alia Aenor, the other Aenor, distinguishing a daughter from her mother. Competing readings connect it to an Arabic or Greek word for light, which the name's later association with Helen encouraged.
Where Éléonore comes from
Éléonore is the French form of Eleanor, whose derivation is contested. The traditional story concerns Eleanor of Aquitaine, born about 1122 and named Aenor after her mother, so called alia Aenor, the other Aenor, which contracted to Alienor and then Eleanor. Whether that is etymology or a later explanation of an existing name is unclear. Other proposals derive it from an Occitan or Arabic source, and the frequent gloss of light or sun ray comes from confusion with Helen, which is a separate Greek name. Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of both France and England and mother of Richard I and John, which carried the name across Europe.
Éléonore in use
Éléonore ranks ninety-second in France with about 885 births in 2025, and its peak in our records is that same year, so it is still rising. The unaccented Eleonore is rare elsewhere, beyond 3,400 in England and Wales and beyond 7,800 in the United States, where Eleanor itself is common. Our data carries the French form from 1900.
How popular is Éléonore?
In 2025, Éléonore was given to 555 babies in France, ranking #92 that year. It is one of the most popular names in France.
Where Éléonore 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 Éléonore is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Eleonore | Eleonore is a spelling of Éléonore, used in Canada, where it ranks #177. | 21,454 |
| Eléonore | Eléonore is Éléonore written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #184. | 6,980 |
| Élèonore | Élèonore is a rare spelling of Éléonore, written with an acute accent and recorded about 10 times, mostly in France. | 10 |
| Éleonore | Éleonore is a rare spelling of Éléonore, written with an acute accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
| Elèonore | Elèonore is a rare spelling of Éléonore, written with a grave accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Éléonore
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Éléonore also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Éléonore over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Éléonore
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Éléonore 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.
Sibling names for Éléonore
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Éléonore — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Éléonore
What does the name Éléonore mean?
Its origin is disputed. The best-known account makes it alia Aenor, "the other Aenor."
Does Éléonore mean light?
That gloss comes from confusion with Helen, a separate Greek name.
Who was Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Queen of both France and England, and mother of Richard I and John.
Is Éléonore still rising?
Yes. It ranks 92nd in France and peaks in the most recent year we hold.
Is Éléonore a girl's or a boy's name?
Éléonore is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Éléonore most popular?
Éléonore peaked in 2025, when 885 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Éléonore?
Éléonore is usually shortened to Léa, Nora and Nell.
Is Éléonore a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Éléonore currently ranks #92 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.