Pronunciation of Eleanor

[SherbertLemons]

Just that really.

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

It’s traditionally El-len-ah in England, the phonetic El-lan-Orr is US.

@scarpa

My best friend's sister is an Eleanor, we (me, her sister, her family, herself) all pronounce it Ellaner/El-ah-neh.

Like 'melon' + 'uh'?

(I wish I could do proper IPA on my phone, haha)

As opposed to El-ah-nore.

All Northern, if that helps.

This

I am an Eleanor. I pronounce el-ah-na and the vast majority of people I meet pronounce it that way automatically.

Only really Americans or a few people etc pronounce it as el-ah-nore.

@Bells3032

I am an Eleanor. I pronounce el-ah-na and the vast majority of people I meet pronounce it that way automatically.

Only really Americans or a few people etc pronounce it as el-ah-nore.

This (my sister is an Eleanor). I’ve never heard anyone try to call her El-e-nore.

It's my sister's name - we say it as Ellen-uh (SE), stress on the first syllable.

I've never met anyone with that name who pronounces the 'nore'

In the UK I hear it pronounced as Ellen -ah.

I've only ever heard it pronounced Ella-NOR on American TV shows.

Cautionary tale: I changed my name from Eleanor because this annoyed me so much!
The default pronunciation really changes depending on where you are and I now live somewhere where I find the standard pronunciation really grating - there's only so many times you can correct people! I've also seen it come up on MN several times and, like this thread, people have weirdly entrenched opinions about it and in the end I didn't like the name enough to fight for it so I changed it.

My favorite variations have been the French and Spanish versions I've had when I've been abroad: Eleonore, Eleanora but you kind of need the accent for it to have the great effect!

El - en - ner

@Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow

The beatles song eleanor rigby....sing that to yourself. That is how to pronounce it

Brilliant!

Exactly right.

Never ever heard it said with a Nore

I'm in East England. I've never heard anyone in real life say NOR. I always say Ellen-a.

El E Neh.

@DownToTheSeaAgain

El E Neh.

With the Neh rhyming with French Deux

Also - as I said I changed my name so obviously I don't rate the name that much - but one of my best friends is also an Eleanor and never ever uses it but goes exclusively by Elle, another friend only ever by Ellie (both to the extent that you would assume those were their given names). Most I meet casually use Ellie or a shortening. It seems popular on MN but I don't hear it get much full usage out in the wild.

@AfterSchoolWorry

L n or

This

I'm in the NE of England and never heard the Elle-eh-NORE spelling until I moved to London. I thought it was really strange at first but both pronunciations sound all right to my ear now.

Elle-uh-neh / elle-un-ner

I'd say Ellin-or. I've never heard anybody put the nore sound on the end.

@potoforchids

I'm in the NE of England and never heard the Elle-eh-NORE spelling until I moved to London. I thought it was really strange at first but both pronunciations sound all right to my ear now.

That should say pronunciation, not spelling

With my (rather common) regional accent I say Ellener but if someone very deliberately pronounces the Nor I tend to follow suit as it somehow feels a completely different name. Probably because I’m from the midlands and everyone else round here says the same as me and when someone pronounces it differently it stands out. I do think it’s just a dialect thing though rather than being right or wrong

It’s Ellen-ah. Pronouncing it Ellen-ore is weird. It would be like pronouncing Charlotte, Shar-lott as opposed to Shar-luht.

Where do people come from who pronounce Charlotte as Shar-luht?

Have known 3 Eleanors and all pronounce it Ellen-a. One NW England, one Yorks and one Scottish. Eleanor Moritz the newsreader based in Manchester pronounces it the same.

To be honest I would avoid choosing any name where you and your child will constantly be having battles with the rest of the world over pronunciation (or spelling)! That will very soon get exhausting and annoying.

I've only ever heard "ELL-un-uh" (I do not have rhotic R in my accent. If a speaker did, I think it would be "ELL-un-ur")

@RaraRachael

Where do people come from who pronounce Charlotte as Shar-luht?

Originally from Hertfordshire.