Eleanor

Did you know?

A few things about Eleanor you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Eleanor

Eleanor Parker

American actress (1922-2013)

Choose Eleanor and your child shares a first name with Eleanor Parker, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Eleanor, like who?” Eleanor Parker's Wikipedia article is available in 51 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Eleanor Parker on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Studio Publicity, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 210 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Eleanor, 7,649 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, there'd probably be one other Eleanor.
• 📜HistoryEleanor has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Eleanors, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearEleanor is at its all-time high right now: #12 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowEleanor is 11× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 2,355 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 210.
• 📍Where it's lovedEleanor is the #2 girl name in 2 states, including Maine, Wisconsin and Wisconsin. It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Occitan, Eleanor means “possibly light”. Our records link it to Arabic and Greek roots.
• 🌍OriginEleanor is the most popular Arabic girl name in the US. That's out of 214 Arabic girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Eleanor

Eleanor is a girl name of Arabic and Greek origin meaning “possibly light”. It has 7 letters and 3 syllables, starting with E and ending in “-nor”. US birth records list Eleanor for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #12 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #12, with 7,649 babies.

Origin:Arabic namesGreek names