Elinor
An older English spelling of Eleanor, which entered England with Eleanor of Aquitaine from the Occitan Alienor, a name of unsettled origin.
Elinor in 2025
Elinor was given to 142 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,799th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 23,347 babies born.
The history of Elinor
Elinor reached its highest point in 1920, when 656 babies were given the name, ranking 457th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 451st, in 1916.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 21,640 babies have been named Elinor. Half of them were born before 1929, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Elinor by decade
| Decade | Babies named Elinor | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 137 | 867 |
| 1890s | 277 | 750 |
| 1900s | 656 | 527 |
| 1910s | 4,010 | 451 |
| 1920s | 5,761 | 457 |
| 1930s | 3,762 | 531 |
| 1940s | 1,829 | 730 |
| 1950s | 836 | 1,423 |
| 1960s | 417 | 2,176 |
| 1970s | 217 | 3,803 |
| 1980s | 232 | 4,853 |
| 1990s | 405 | 3,834 |
| 2000s | 733 | 3,542 |
| 2010s | 1,424 | 2,476 |
| 2020s | 944 | 2,445 |
Where Elinor is heading
Elinor has fallen 14% over the past decade, from 165 babies in 2015 to 142 in 2025.
Names like Elinor
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Elinor.