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

pleased to hear you’ve only had eleaNOR once as that had put me off a bit.

But the name literally ends in NOR

I've only ever heard Eleanor pronounced as it's written, Elea-NOR.

If you want Elena, then spell it that way. I much prefer that spelling

Ah, I thought my name was quite nice!

I get El or Nell for shortened versions.

A classic that has stood the test of time

But Elena is actually El-ay-nah!

Eleanor is generally pronounced Eh-lah-nuh, with some choosing to stress the nor and say Eh-lah-nor. Not everyone name is pronounced literally how it's spelt, and some names do have more than one accepted pronunciation. This is one of them (much like Sara, Maya, Naomi etc).

The Elenas I know x 2 pronounce it El-en-uh!

Elaina would be E- Lay- nuh!

But Elena is actually El-ay-nah

Maybe by a few people, sure

I know several Elenas, both in the UK and in Germany, and they all pronounce their name as it's written, El en ah

There is no AY sound in Elena

*The Elenas I know x 2 pronounce it El-en-uh!

Elaina would be E- Lay- nuh!*

Yes! Exactly - if you want to include as AY sound, then use Elaine or Elaina!

Hello :) I am an Eleanor in my 40s and I don't shorten it (apart from my Mum called me El and my Granny called me Ellie) I do not pronounce it El en ore as I think it sound horsey. I pronounce it El en uh....I suppose. But definitely not a strong 'uh' if that makes sense? I like my name. I am glad it's not common at my age group nor my children's. I think it gives a good impression before you meet me and I've never thought of it as frumpy but then no one would tell me that would they?! :)

I never used to like it but after falling pregnant with DD after a holiday in Greece, there was a restaurant we loved called Elena, and we said if we had a girl it would feature highly on our list.

So now I have a new list of similar favourites

Eleanor
Elena
Heleana

I think they are timeless classic beautiful names.

Love, love it.

But I'm biased because DIL is Eleanor and I love her to bits. She's Ellie or Elle for short.

I love the name Helena (huh-lay-nah not Helen-ah though)

I like it but there are so many Ellies/Ellas and Elles

It's pronounced Elena in the UK

Pronouncing it phonetically is an American thing

English isn't aways logical - Honor is Onna not Hon-orr, etc

I pronounce it as ELen-ner. Not an 'a' ending.

It's pronounced Elena in the UK

Why spell it ElenaNOR if you're planning on pronouncing it as EleNA?

Just use Elena!

There is skso the Eleana spelling also pronounced El-en-uh by the ones I know again x 2!

I wouldn't have guessed Eleana to be Ellen-uh. It looks made up. Why butcher a nice classic name?

lol, I have an aunt Eleanor and it gets pronounced Ehl-nr. Like seriously no vowels other than the initial E.

Really like it!