Eleanor to Eleanora, Elora or Eliora?

I love Eleanor and don’t think popularity matters much with a classic name but if if you are set on changing it then I agree with those who say Helena would be the obvious choice to change to - similar classic feel, fairly similar sound if you pronounce it the “Helen-uh” way (as many do), yet quite underused in the UK. You can then still call her Ellie, or Nell, Leni etc

If you really dislike Helena, then I think of your choices Elora is the nicest (but then I like the film Willow), albeit quite an different style to Eleanor/Helena - although a few might miss hear Elora as Laura. I personally find the extra syllable in Eleanora and Eliora sounds a bit frilly.

I know an Eleanor who goes by Lenny.

Eleanor is lovely. If you are concerned about popularity then it's 'Ellie' you may want to rethink.
You could start calling her 'Nor', 'Nora' or 'Elle'.

I name change every time an eleaNOR/ eleNUH thread comes up to say - this is why I no longer use my first name which is EleaNOR. I got to about 25 and just couldn’t be doing with it anymore, you spend so much time correcting people and then they will tell you you are wrong cos people have weirdly strong opinions about it even though it is not their name. Americans I’ve met pronounce it - ele-NER anyway so that’s another pronunciation to have to fend off. It’s a curse!

People love the name on MN but all my fellow Eleanors I know don’t use the full version and I use my middle name. In theory it’s a nice name but where I live now it’s pronounced, el-nuh half the time 🤦🏻‍♀️.

Eleanor is beatitudes and timeless and far superior to some of the other suggestions which sound made up.

I’m English and would not say Nor. I’d say Ellen-uh. I’ve noticed the name pronounced Elen-nor on American TV programmes eg The Good Place and I’ve read (on here) that Elen-nor is the American pronunciation.

Eleanor - I LOVE
I wouldn't change that. Call her Elie.

Others..
Ellinor
Elena
Eloise
Janelle
Gabrielle
Ellen
Elise
Honoria
Helen
Eliza

Broken record here but I agree with everyone else! Eleanor is classic and timeless and less popular than Ellie, actually. All the other options are at best frilly and aggressively feminine and at worst give made-up vibes.

(NB I do love Eleri and Elowen but neither seem the vibe you're after!)

Oh, and I say this as an Eleanor myself. Despite its popularity now I still love my name, while I'd hate to be any of the others on your list.

I don't like Elle as a name or nickname. It just means 'she'. And in accents which don't pronounce the letter 'l' clearly, it becomes 'Eww'.

Me too.
I'm not mad about the Ellen-OR pronunciation but that's fairly unusual.

Eleanor is lovely. I far prefer it to your new suggestions.

@newleafontheplantjohn , I know several people who say it as Ellen-OR. Most are EL-en-uh though. Both pronunciations are used in the UK.

Is that not just an accent thing?

Nit sure where you're from, but Eleanor does end in -nor. Bit just in America.

Eleanor is my favourite by a mile.

But don't call her Ellie if you don't want common. It's so bland and overused.

The full name Eleanor is lovely, or shorten it to Nell / Nellie, which is very cute.

Eleanor is classic and elegant. Stick with it. Ellie is fine,

Yep. Others all a bit Disney (out of their cultural contexts)

Eleanor is classic and ageless I think. You could call her Elle - officially or as a nickname. I have met an Eleanor professionally known as Nina.

I don't think Eleanor is that popular. My daughter is Eleanor - there is only one other in her large primary school.

Elena.

Eleanor is a beautiful name.
Eliana and Elana were on our original line list for DD but didn't make the short list.

Other more unusual names that could be shortened to Ellie: Elvira, Estelle or Joelle

Having grown up with the Chalet Girls and Jane Austen, I thought so too! But having floated the spelling with family and friends, it seems not.

Eliana is just a long version of Ellie.
Eleni is nice for someone Greek, but will probably get Elainey instead of El-enny.

I wanted to go with Elinor -Yes, it's a traditional spelling not a made up version, but I thought it would constantly need spelling out to people.

Isn't Elinor a well known spelling? I'd have thought both versions were equally well known. Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility. Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, author.

I wanted to go with Elinor -Yes, it's a traditional spelling not a made up version, but I thought it would constantly need spelling out to people. Turns out half the country can't spell Eleanor either!
I also love the French Alienor (but can be unfortunately shortened 🙄).
Elodie is lovely too.

I think Eleanor is lovely and will stand the test of time much more than the others. I think Nell is great as a shortening of Eleanor and is much less common than Ellie. I'd pick Eleanora of those you have suggested. Also gives the option of Nora as a short name.