Eleanor

Eleanor (/ˈ ɛ l ə n ər , -n ɔːr / ) is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name Aliénor. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introduced to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who came to marry King Henry II. It was also borne by Eleanor of Provence, who became Queen consort of England as the wife of King Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I.

The name was popular in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s, peaking at rank 25 in 1920. It declined below 600 by the 1970s, again rose to rank 32 in the 2010s.[1] Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving first lady of the US was probably the most famous bearer of the name in contemporary history.

Common hypocorisms include Elle, Ella, Ellie, Elly, Leonor, Leonora, Leonore, Nella, Nellie, Nelly, and Nora.

The name derives from the Provençal name Aliénor, which became Eléonore in Langue d'oïl, i.e., French, and from there Eleanor in English.[2]

The origin of the name is somewhat unclear; one of the earliest bearers appears to have been Eleanor of Aquitaine (1120s–1204). She was the daughter of Aénor de Châtellerault, and it has been suggested that having been baptized Aenor after her mother, she was called alia Aenor, i.e. "the other Aenor" or Aliénor in childhood and would have kept that name in adult life. Some sources say that the name Aénor itself may be a Latinization of an unknown Germanic name.[3]

Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful woman in 12th century Europe, was certainly the reason for the name's later popularity. However, the name's origin with her, and the explanation of alia Aenor is uncertain; there are records of possible bearers of the name Alienor earlier in the 12th, or even in the 11th or 10th centuries,[4] but the records of these women post-date Eleanor of Aquitaine, at a time when Alienor had come to be seen as an equivalent variant of the name Aenor (so that presumably, these women during their own lifetime used the given name Aenor):