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Original poster

Pronunciation of Eleanor

164 replies

SherbertLemons · 07/11/2021 00:39

Just that really.

How does everyone pronounce this name and what do you think of it?

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Fordian · 09/11/2021 22:20

ELLA-nur

PurpleParrotfish · 09/11/2021 22:19

Oh and a schwa for the o in Charlotte too.

PurpleParrotfish · 09/11/2021 22:18

I’d think of Eleanor as having an ‘or’ at the end but in practice would pronounce the second and third syllables the same, as a schwa (like the first and third a in banana, or the i in family). That’s the SE England accent for you.

SquigglePigs · 09/11/2021 22:06

Ell-en-uh

And Charlotte is Shar-lut

I've never heard either pronounced any other way in England.

Frazzled2207 · 09/11/2021 22:03

@SecretKeeper1

Charlotte rhymes with scarlet, surely? Never heard it with an -ott sound at the end.
If you were in France it would most definitely have an -OTT. However you’re probably not in France!
Longdistance · 09/11/2021 22:02

I have one. She’s El en or. My work colleague has the same name. If she’s does something silly I shout across El en or (our surname) like my dd.
Cracking name though,

Frazzled2207 · 09/11/2021 22:01

Ellen-na

I know a few Elenas and pronounce them the same way.

However have occasionally come across an Eleanor who wanted it pronounced with a -nor and have obliged.

LizzieAnt · 09/11/2021 21:56

@ginghamstarfish

Only ever heard it the one way! It's only likely to be mispronounced by those who haven't come across it before (like many other names).
There are a few equally valid pronunciations of Eleanor. Just because someone says it differently to you doesn't mean they're mispronouncing the name!
Classica · 09/11/2021 20:37

The ella-NORE pronunciation sounds very droney to me.

Lucyinthesky07 · 09/11/2021 20:36

I've heard it said both ways, but the reason I could never use it was that I loved one way of pronouncing it and really disliked the other!

ginghamstarfish · 09/11/2021 19:39

Only ever heard it the one way! It's only likely to be mispronounced by those who haven't come across it before (like many other names).

FatBettyintheCoop · 09/11/2021 19:36

Ell-en-ah.

I'm originally from the Midlands.

Elen-or sounds a bit posh.

dontstopmenoooooow · 09/11/2021 19:30

Lovely name, we almost went for it but didn't for the pure reason that there are multiple pronuncations and the one we liked El-an-ore doesn't go with our surname.

We chose Eloise in the end.

Fivebeanchilli · 09/11/2021 19:28

Oh and she's now a young adult but has never been Ellie.
And I pronounce Charlotte as shar-lot with the emphasis slightly more on the first syllable but definitely an OT at the end.
I have quite a posh English accent though.

Fivebeanchilli · 09/11/2021 19:17

We have one. She is ella-NOR.

LizzieAnt · 09/11/2021 12:50

Everyone is pronouncing Eleanor as it's written though Blubells. It's just that the letter r, in that position in a word, is pronounced in some accents and not in others. So the sound of the name depends on the accent of the speaker.

Blubells · 09/11/2021 11:45

Eleanor = El en or

As it's written!

KirstenBlest · 08/11/2021 16:23
Smile I feel the same about names from other languages - Amelie, Elodie and Genevieve for example. Lovely in their native tongue but plain in a UK accent
LizzieAnt · 08/11/2021 14:34

@KirstenBlest
Ah right, I see, thank you.

Etherealhedgehog · 08/11/2021 13:53

Either - it's an accent thing. But definitely don't feel like you have to alter the spelling if you want to pronounce it Ell-en-ore - that's a common pronunciation of the classic spelling, not all names are spelled phonetically!

KirstenBlest · 08/11/2021 13:52

Same as Eleanor and Ela-NORE, I suppose

KirstenBlest · 08/11/2021 13:50

The difference is that the non-irish version seems to have a really long aun sound. Sort of one is Shivawn and the other is Shiv-AWWN

LizzieAnt · 08/11/2021 13:43

[quote KirstenBlest]@Verfremdungseffekt, I think it's a shame that the names become mainstream with the anglicised pronunciation

Orla is pretty, Awla isn't Siobhan is pretty, Shivaun isn't[/quote]
Agree re Orla, but what's the difference between Siobhan and Shivaun pronunciation wise?
Shivaun doesn't seem bad for a phonetic rendering in English...does it?

Firebird83 · 08/11/2021 13:08

Ellen-er

KirstenBlest · 08/11/2021 11:53

@Verfremdungseffekt, I think it's a shame that the names become mainstream with the anglicised pronunciation

Orla is pretty, Awla isn't Siobhan is pretty, Shivaun isn't