Eleanor ?

[charltonred]

Thinking of using Eleanor for baby girl due soon but wondering how people perceive it,
is it still popular? Or would it be considered dated now? Is it a classic?

Should add we aren’t keen on Ellie but I don’t mind Elle or Ella for shortened version/nn

EleaNOR sounds so masculine

I prefer EleNA

We’d definitely be pronouncing it EleNA I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it like EleaNOR, I didn’t realise that was a thing.

I like the other suggestions of Nora (although less likely to use with EleNA) and Nell. I also came across Leni today too which I also think is a cute shortening.

@charltonred , the Elen-ORE pronunciation is definitely a thing.
Most people say EL-en-uh, but somebody will insist on saying it as Elen-ORE.

I had a great aunt Nellie whose real name was Eleanor.She had been named after her great grandmother who apparently was known as Nellie as well.

Eleanor is timeless and elegant; Nell is a lovely abbreviation.

Nora is a great nn for Eleanor!

Eleanor for me is always E-Len-ORE (I love this) but could also be E-Len-AH (not keen on this).

Elena is Eh-LAY-nuh. (Love this)

Also love the nicknames Nora and Nell.

I know two Elenas and both pronounce it as it's written: Elen-ah with the emphasis on the first syllable

I love Eleanor and Elena - both said in a similar way by me.

A timeless classic with lovely associations and meaning.

Not to my taste but pretty classic. I think Ellie is quite likely to happen though

Elena can be El-ENN-a or EL-ena or El-AIN-a. All are nice.
Lena was Leena when I was young, but I think it's Layna now.

We have a baby in our extended family named Eleanor and I love it.
It is pronounced “or” at the end, not too emphasised, otherwise they might just as well have named her Elena.
No diminutives have emerged as yet.
My preferences would be Nell or maybe Lenore, to pre-empt Ellie or Ella, but it's not up to me.

Leni is a cute shortening. Or Laynie. Such a versatile name ☺️

Love Eleanor as a name. My DD has a similar name to Eleanor and shortened to Lenny and her Grandmother calls her Nori ( to rhyme with story).

I think it’s ever so old fashioned and frumpy. Eleanor is dated but not a classic. I know 2, one in her 80s, and she insists it’s pronounced Ella-nah. But I know a five year old and she pronounces it Ella-nor, which is even worse.

My favourite girls name. I don't have kids but my imaginary daughter is called Eleanor. Apart from Ellie/Elle, she could also be Nellie or Nora.

I'm jealous of your daughter and she's not even born yet!

I love Eleanor as a name! my niece is an Eleanor, and it doesn't get shortened by anyone. And she's lovely!

It is a great name! Im slightly biased.
My shortened name is El and only one person has ever pronounced my full name as eleaNOR, it's always eleNA which I prefer.

@eleanoreleanoreleanor 😂 thanks for the insight , pleased to hear you’ve only had eleaNOR once as that had put me off a bit.

It's a lovely name and I would Nick name as Ella

Confused. Are people saying they pronounce Eleanor Elena [El-ay-na] instead of Eleanor [El-a-nor or El-an-ore] ?

I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce it in the first way.

Yes @TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams , there are definitely people out there who pronounce Eleanor as Ellen-ORE rather than Ellen-UH

I've only come across the Eh-LAY-nor pronunciation when the name is spelt Elena

Ellen-ORE is the only way I've ever heard it pronounced. But more of an Ell-a-nor rather than a huge ORE emphasis. Same as Elinor really.

If the OP hates that, I'd steer clear in her shoes.

Alienor is the old version which I really like the spelling of but I'd pronounce it Ay-lien-or but it apparently has a hard Ah pronunciation which I don't like.

I'd say it's a classic won't be overused but also well known. The few I know non are Ellie's either full name or Nora or Nelly for short.