Eleanor
Meaning and origin
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.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Eleanor (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Eleanor has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2014. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 9 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2010 | 13 |
| 2011 | 10 |
| 2012 | 11 |
| 2013 | 13 |
| 2014 | 17 |
| 2015 | 13 |
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 16 |
| 2019 | 13 |
| 2020 | 13 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 16 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 113 |
| 2000 | 123 |
| 2001 | 124 |
| 2002 | 128 |
| 2003 | 134 |
| 2004 | 135 |
| 2005 | 136 |
| 2006 | 139 |
| 2007 | 147 |
| 2008 | 151 |
| 2009 | 159 |
| 2010 | 174 |
| 2011 | 180 |
| 2012 | 194 |
| 2013 | 206 |
| 2014 | 223 |
| 2015 | 236 |
| 2016 | 255 |
| 2017 | 277 |
| 2018 | 293 |
| 2019 | 318 |
| 2020 | 324 |
Eleanor in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Eleanor.Hi! My name is Eleanor.
- Eleanor ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Eleanor called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Eleanor kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Eleanor is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Eleanors mamma är lärare.Eleanor's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Eleanors mamma is Eleanor's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Eleanor
How do you pronounce Eleanor in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Eleanor in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Eleanor mean?
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.
How popular is Eleanor in Sweden?
16 babies were named Eleanor in 2022. In 2020, 324 people in Sweden had Eleanor as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2014 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.