Meanings
- A female given name.
Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright: / Presumptuous dame! ill-nurtured Eleanor! / Art thou not second woman in the realm, / And the protector's wife, belov'd of him?
Act I, Scene II1 more example
When you hear a young lady called Eleanor, you think of a tall, beautiful, interesting creature directly - the very opposite of me! With my personal appearance, Eleanor sounds ridiculous - and Neelie, as you yourself remarked, is just the thing. No! no! don't say any more - - -
1866, William 'Wilkie' Collins, Armadale, Kissinger Publishing, published 2004, →ISBN, page 288
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*Audamār
- Latinalia“other”
- ProvençalAliénor
- EnglishEleanor
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. More at Eleanor on Wikipedia. Also see Aenor.
More words from Provençal, Latin, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic نُورَة
- نُورَة (nūra)female given name
Bulgarian Eлеоно́ра
- Eлеоно́ра (Eleonóra)female given name
Czech Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Danish Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Finnish Eleonoora
- Eleonoorafemale given name
French Éléonore, Aliénor
- Éléonorefemale given name
- Aliénorfemale given name
German Eleonore
- Eleonorefemale given name
Greek Ελεονώρα
- Ελεονώρα (Eleonóra)female given name
Hungarian Eleonóra
- Eleonórafemale given name
Italian Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Latin Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Latvian Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Norwegian Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Polish Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Portuguese Leonor
- Leonorfemale given name
Russian Элеоно́ра, Э́линор
- Элеоно́ра (Eleonóra)female given name
- Э́линор (Élinor)female given name
Slovak Eleonóra
- Eleonórafemale given name
Spanish Leonor
- Leonorfemale given name
Swedish Eleonora
- Eleonorafemale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Eleanor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleanor
“Eleanor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleanor. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Eleanor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleanor.
Source: Eleanor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.