Eleanor
Greek at root, with a meaning that reads as "shining light". Barely known in Poland: fewer than 120 women carry it, so most Poles have never met one, though the last few years brought a small run of newborn girls.
Eleanor Pronunciation
Eleanor is pronounced e-le-AH-nor (/ɛlɛˈanɔr/).
What Eleanor means
Where Eleanor comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Eleanor reaches English speakers through Greek roots, where words for the sun and the torch gave it the sense of shining light. Medieval bearers wore it in French and Latin form before English claimed it fully. The famous early holder is Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of France and then England, who lived into her eighties.
The sense of shining light was fastened to the name through its Greek kin, the same family that gives us Helen. Over centuries it grew a fuller variant, Eleonora, and a short form that walks on its own, Nora. Nora now appears on birth records where the longer name never does.
On a Polish class register today you might find one Nora and one Eleonora seated apart. Both descend from the same Greek light. The name still means shining light.
How many people are named Eleanor
1 in 191049 women in Poland is named Eleanor. 118 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3106 among female names.
Eleanor's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1535 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2023.
Where Eleanor is most popular
Eleanor is most popular in Pomeranian, 389% above the national average (2 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Lesser Poland (+217%) and Silesian (+217%).
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Pomeranian2 girls born+389%
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Lesser Poland2 girls born+217%
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Silesian2 girls born+217%
Eleanor as a middle name
Eleanor is a first name for 118 women in Poland and a middle name for another 51, a 70/30 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 953rd, between Carina (51) and Elvira (51).
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#951 Annie51
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#952 Carina51
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#953 Eleanor51
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#954 Elvira51
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#955 Emiliana51