Eleanor
Eleanor was given to 7,649 girls in 2025, #12 among girls’ names; 337,323 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 140,000 Americans named Eleanor and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (42% of everyone recorded); the median is 12 years old and half are between 5 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Eleanor by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Eleanor mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Eleanor is “a female given name.” Its etymology gives the senses “other” (alia) and “the other Aenor” (be).
The first known bearer was Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204), Provençal Aliénor, perhaps from Latin alia (“other”) and her mother’s name Aenor, its meaning thereby said to be “the other Aenor”. This Aenor seems to come from earlier Adenordis, which might be some corruption of Adamardis, feminine form of Ademar or Adamarus, from Proto-West Germanic *Audamār, from the Proto-Germanic elements *audaz (“riches”) + *mēraz (“fame”). An Arabic origin from نُور (nūr, “light”) has also been suggested. Eleanor has often been erroneously interpreted as a variant of Helen.
/ˈɛləˌnoɹ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Eleanor?
#12 among girls’ names, 2025
Eleanor rose from #60 in 2015 to #12 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 2.5 to 4.8 per 1,000.
8,507 babies in 1920, the peak
Eleanor peaked in 1920, when 8,507 babies were given it (8,497 girls, #25 among girls’ names). The 7,654 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 90% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,649 | #12 | 4.8 |
| 2024 | 7,147 | #14 | 4.4 |
| 2023 | 6,765 | #14 | 4.2 |
| 2022 | 6,927 | #16 | 4.2 |
| 2021 | 7,099 | #15 | 4.3 |
| 2020 | 6,379 | #22 | 3.9 |
| 2019 | 6,198 | #27 | 3.7 |
| 2018 | 5,728 | #32 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 5,549 | #36 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | 5,140 | #41 | 2.9 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4,442 | #60 | 2.5 |
| 2014 | 3,740 | #78 | 2.1 |
| 2013 | 3,013 | #106 | 1.7 |
| 2012 | 2,383 | #134 | 1.4 |
| 2011 | 2,085 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 2010 | 1,851 | #166 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 1,486 | #218 | 0.81 |
| 2008 | 1,343 | #255 | 0.71 |
| 2007 | 1,272 | #266 | 0.66 |
| 2006 | 1,221 | #270 | 0.64 |
| 2005 | 1,237 | #264 | 0.67 |
| 2004 | 1,063 | #301 | 0.58 |
| 2003 | 1,007 | #308 | 0.55 |
| 2002 | 961 | #319 | 0.53 |
| 2001 | 826 | #359 | 0.46 |
| 2000 | 771 | #375 | 0.42 |
| 1999 | 688 | #404 | 0.39 |
| 1998 | 720 | #386 | 0.41 |
| 1997 | 537 | #465 | 0.31 |
| 1996 | 487 | #490 | 0.28 |
| 1995 | 437 | #544 | 0.25 |
| 1994 | 390 | #585 | 0.22 |
| 1993 | 445 | #537 | 0.25 |
| 1992 | 395 | #585 | 0.21 |
| 1991 | 394 | #583 | 0.21 |
| 1990 | 378 | #598 | 0.20 |
| 1989 | 357 | #599 | 0.19 |
| 1988 | 309 | #642 | 0.17 |
| 1987 | 290 | #649 | 0.17 |
| 1986 | 263 | #693 | 0.15 |
| 1985 | 270 | #670 | 0.16 |
| 1984 | 244 | #687 | 0.14 |
| 1983 | 263 | #656 | 0.16 |
| 1982 | 265 | #671 | 0.16 |
| 1981 | 270 | #657 | 0.16 |
| 1980 | 258 | #677 | 0.16 |
| 1979 | 276 | #630 | 0.17 |
| 1978 | 269 | #624 | 0.18 |
| 1977 | 228 | #689 | 0.15 |
| 1976 | 257 | #609 | 0.18 |
| 1975 | 234 | #650 | 0.16 |
| 1974 | 228 | #665 | 0.16 |
| 1973 | 266 | #591 | 0.18 |
| 1972 | 301 | #554 | 0.20 |
| 1971 | 325 | #554 | 0.20 |
| 1970 | 366 | #522 | 0.21 |
| 1969 | 359 | #518 | 0.21 |
| 1968 | 408 | #475 | 0.25 |
| 1967 | 443 | #451 | 0.27 |
| 1966 | 473 | #431 | 0.28 |
| 1965 | 603 | #372 | 0.34 |
| 1964 | 648 | #377 | 0.34 |
| 1963 | 667 | #376 | 0.35 |
| 1962 | 763 | #341 | 0.39 |
| 1961 | 749 | #348 | 0.37 |
| 1960 | 825 | #328 | 0.41 |
| 1959 | 865 | #315 | 0.43 |
| 1958 | 864 | #305 | 0.43 |
| 1957 | 962 | #292 | 0.47 |
| 1956 | 1,044 | #263 | 0.52 |
| 1955 | 1,043 | #257 | 0.53 |
| 1954 | 1,117 | #242 | 0.58 |
| 1953 | 1,254 | #227 | 0.67 |
| 1952 | 1,249 | #219 | 0.67 |
| 1951 | 1,296 | #210 | 0.72 |
| 1950 | 1,371 | #199 | 0.80 |
| 1949 | 1,517 | #183 | 0.89 |
| 1948 | 1,664 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1947 | 1,853 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1946 | 1,933 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,876 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1944 | 2,190 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 1943 | 2,729 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1942 | 3,165 | #87 | 2.3 |
| 1941 | 3,250 | #78 | 2.7 |
| 1940 | 3,584 | #68 | 3.1 |
| 1939 | 3,810 | #63 | 3.5 |
| 1938 | 4,049 | #60 | 3.7 |
| 1937 | 4,275 | #53 | 4.0 |
| 1936 | 4,341 | #47 | 4.2 |
| 1935 | 4,166 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1934 | 4,718 | #44 | 4.5 |
| 1933 | 5,106 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 1932 | 4,836 | #45 | 4.5 |
| 1931 | 5,255 | #40 | 4.9 |
| 1930 | 5,823 | #39 | 5.2 |
| 1929 | 5,865 | #38 | 5.3 |
| 1928 | 6,535 | #36 | 5.7 |
| 1927 | 6,963 | #33 | 5.8 |
| 1926 | 7,305 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1925 | 7,724 | #31 | 6.3 |
| 1924 | 8,193 | #29 | 6.6 |
| 1923 | 7,772 | #28 | 6.4 |
| 1922 | 7,852 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1921 | 8,054 | #29 | 6.5 |
| 1920 | 8,497 | #25 | 7.1 |
| 1919 | 7,611 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1918 | 8,176 | #26 | 7.1 |
| 1917 | 7,669 | #26 | 7.1 |
| 1916 | 7,406 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1915 | 7,036 | #28 | 7.2 |
| 1914 | 5,374 | #28 | 7.1 |
| 1913 | 3,938 | #34 | 6.3 |
| 1912 | 3,120 | #39 | 5.6 |
| 1911 | 2,035 | #49 | 4.9 |
| 1910 | 1,798 | #55 | 4.5 |
| 1909 | 1,460 | #57 | 4.2 |
| 1908 | 1,302 | #65 | 3.9 |
| 1907 | 1,155 | #67 | 3.6 |
| 1906 | 1,088 | #67 | 3.7 |
| 1905 | 1,041 | #73 | 3.6 |
| 1904 | 868 | #80 | 3.2 |
| 1903 | 840 | #79 | 3.2 |
| 1902 | 837 | #79 | 3.2 |
| 1901 | 686 | #84 | 2.9 |
| 1900 | 753 | #88 | 2.5 |
| 1899 | 575 | #94 | 2.5 |
| 1898 | 620 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1897 | 559 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1896 | 493 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1895 | 544 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1894 | 450 | #108 | 2.0 |
| 1893 | 397 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1892 | 389 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1891 | 376 | #103 | 2.0 |
| 1890 | 351 | #117 | 1.8 |
| 1889 | 312 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1888 | 288 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 247 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 1886 | 271 | #114 | 1.9 |
| 1885 | 222 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 1884 | 198 | #124 | 1.5 |
| 1883 | 185 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1882 | 174 | #117 | 1.6 |
| 1881 | 110 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1880 | 129 | #127 | 1.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Eleanor a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Eleanor has been given almost only to girls: 645 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Eleanor: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Eleanor, and how old are they?
140,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 42% of the 337,323 Americans ever recorded as Eleanor. The median Eleanor alive today is 12 years old; half are between 5 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 120,071 people named Eleanor (119,912 women and girls, 159 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 120,534 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 18,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 16,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,880 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,320 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 19,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 75,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Eleanor born?
The states with the most babies named Eleanor are New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 37,296 | #34 | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 33,436 | #17 | 1.5× |
| Massachusetts | 18,881 | #14 | 1.9× |
| Illinois | 18,364 | #13 | 1.1× |
| California | 17,781 | #47 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 15,639 | #6 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 14,072 | #74 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 13,226 | #4 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 10,791 | #30 | 0.5× |
| Minnesota | 7,611 | #4 | 1.1× |
Where Eleanor is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Eleanor is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Eleanor with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 366,269 babies since 1880, Eleanor is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 7,654 of their 8,119 babies (94%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Eleanor
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Eleanor and names like it
- Compare Eleanor and ElinorBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEleanor peaked in 1920.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Eleanor since 1910.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Eleanor.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Eleanor alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.