The name Eleanor comes from the Old French name Alienòr, which is derived from the Occitan phrase alia Aenor, meaning "the other Aenor." It was popularized by Eleanor of Aquitaine, a former queen of France and England. She was originally named Aenor after her mother, but took the name Eleanor to distinguish herself from her mother. It was a top-100 girl's name in the United States every year between 1900 and 1942. The name nearly fell out of the top-700 in the 1980s, but has since recovered and has now been a top-100 girl's name every year since 2014. It's the name CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes gave her daughter Eleanor Ricky, born in 2025.
