Lenore
Lenore was given to 98 girls in 2025, #1,971 among girls’ names; 22,974 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,150 Americans named Lenore and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (40% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 55 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lenore by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lenore mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lenore is “a female given name, variant of Eleanor.”
Apheretic form of Eleanor.
/ləˈnoɹ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lenore?
#1,971 among girls’ names, 2025
Lenore rose from #2,635 in 2015 to #1,971 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 38.1 to 61.0 per million.
460 babies in 1926, the peak
Lenore peaked in 1926, when 460 girls were given it, #312 among girls’ names. The 98 births of 2025 are 21% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98 | #1,971 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 97 | #2,024 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 71 | #2,508 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 76 | #2,418 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 73 | #2,455 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 41 | #3,659 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 71 | #2,494 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 60 | #2,828 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 46 | #3,420 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 66 | #2,656 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 68 | #2,635 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 63 | #2,763 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 41 | #3,750 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 38 | #4,028 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 34 | #4,313 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 24 | #5,717 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 21 | #6,448 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 21 | #6,472 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 18 | #7,276 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 21 | #6,255 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 16 | #7,342 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 13 | #8,516 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 14 | #7,818 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,713 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 12 | #8,510 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 16 | #6,665 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 12 | #8,004 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,262 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 14 | #6,674 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 9 | #9,235 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 12 | #7,319 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 19 | #5,142 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 12 | #7,289 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 9 | #9,171 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 27 | #3,881 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 23 | #4,314 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 29 | #3,525 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 27 | #3,537 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,583 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 44 | #2,318 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 33 | #2,835 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 32 | #2,819 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 31 | #2,824 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 36 | #2,619 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 63 | #1,777 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 39 | #2,471 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 53 | #1,960 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 47 | #2,032 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 54 | #1,867 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 63 | #1,593 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 84 | #1,313 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 109 | #1,078 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 128 | #945 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 149 | #864 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 187 | #779 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 156 | #862 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 174 | #772 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 205 | #680 | 0.12 |
| 1967 | 198 | #694 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 148 | #819 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 157 | #789 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 155 | #840 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 177 | #779 | 0.09 |
| 1962 | 221 | #693 | 0.11 |
| 1961 | 235 | #676 | 0.12 |
| 1960 | 257 | #630 | 0.13 |
| 1959 | 291 | #578 | 0.14 |
| 1958 | 284 | #590 | 0.14 |
| 1957 | 289 | #567 | 0.14 |
| 1956 | 250 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1955 | 254 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1954 | 244 | #575 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 257 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 307 | #479 | 0.17 |
| 1951 | 308 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1950 | 291 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1949 | 321 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1948 | 355 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1947 | 408 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1946 | 371 | #395 | 0.24 |
| 1945 | 275 | #431 | 0.21 |
| 1944 | 309 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 344 | #394 | 0.25 |
| 1942 | 360 | #375 | 0.27 |
| 1941 | 284 | #406 | 0.24 |
| 1940 | 239 | #441 | 0.21 |
| 1939 | 296 | #383 | 0.27 |
| 1938 | 333 | #353 | 0.30 |
| 1937 | 340 | #346 | 0.32 |
| 1936 | 373 | #316 | 0.36 |
| 1935 | 352 | #337 | 0.34 |
| 1934 | 350 | #337 | 0.34 |
| 1933 | 376 | #322 | 0.37 |
| 1932 | 373 | #330 | 0.35 |
| 1931 | 398 | #320 | 0.37 |
| 1930 | 411 | #325 | 0.37 |
| 1929 | 433 | #315 | 0.39 |
| 1928 | 415 | #328 | 0.36 |
| 1927 | 459 | #311 | 0.38 |
| 1926 | 460 | #312 | 0.39 |
| 1925 | 408 | #332 | 0.34 |
| 1924 | 434 | #321 | 0.35 |
| 1923 | 387 | #332 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 439 | #311 | 0.37 |
| 1921 | 417 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1920 | 402 | #325 | 0.34 |
| 1919 | 390 | #319 | 0.35 |
| 1918 | 412 | #316 | 0.36 |
| 1917 | 367 | #320 | 0.34 |
| 1916 | 330 | #340 | 0.32 |
| 1915 | 360 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1914 | 270 | #320 | 0.35 |
| 1913 | 210 | #332 | 0.34 |
| 1912 | 168 | #353 | 0.30 |
| 1911 | 131 | #349 | 0.31 |
| 1910 | 140 | #331 | 0.35 |
| 1909 | 114 | #338 | 0.33 |
| 1908 | 115 | #333 | 0.34 |
| 1907 | 97 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1906 | 117 | #312 | 0.40 |
| 1905 | 113 | #317 | 0.39 |
| 1904 | 82 | #362 | 0.30 |
| 1903 | 78 | #363 | 0.30 |
| 1902 | 84 | #347 | 0.32 |
| 1901 | 56 | #394 | 0.23 |
| 1900 | 81 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1899 | 68 | #356 | 0.29 |
| 1898 | 59 | #404 | 0.23 |
| 1897 | 67 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1896 | 66 | #358 | 0.28 |
| 1895 | 62 | #354 | 0.27 |
| 1894 | 43 | #425 | 0.19 |
| 1893 | 67 | #330 | 0.31 |
| 1892 | 49 | #383 | 0.23 |
| 1891 | 25 | #517 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 38 | #411 | 0.20 |
| 1889 | 37 | #402 | 0.21 |
| 1888 | 31 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1887 | 37 | #356 | 0.25 |
| 1886 | 20 | #499 | 0.14 |
| 1885 | 22 | #453 | 0.17 |
| 1884 | 13 | #603 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 17 | #472 | 0.15 |
| 1882 | 19 | #424 | 0.18 |
| 1881 | 10 | #563 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 12 | #509 | 0.13 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lenore a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lenore has been given almost only to girls: 6 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lenore: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lenore, and how old are they?
9,150 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 40% of the 22,974 Americans ever recorded as Lenore. The median Lenore alive today is 68 years old; half are between 55 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 11,122 people named Lenore (11,085 women and girls, 37 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 10,535 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,730 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,010 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,790 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 411 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 866 |
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 Lenore born?
The states with the most babies named Lenore are New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with 46% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,277 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Illinois | 1,812 | #1,339 | 1.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,557 | #898 | 1.0× |
| California | 1,308 | #2,402 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 1,216 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 1,210 | #1,600 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 1,028 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Wisconsin | 735 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Minnesota | 643 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Connecticut | 370 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Lenore is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lenore is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 2.3 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 Lenore 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 72,364 babies since 1880, Lenore is the second most given (32% of them). In 2025 it was given to 98 of their 809 babies (12%), the third most given that year.
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 Lenore
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 Lenore and names like it
- Compare Lenore and LenoraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLenore peaked in 1926.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lenore since 1910.
- The top names of 1926The year the most babies were named Lenore.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lenore alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.