Eleanor

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Eleanor (usually pronounced /ˈɛlənɔr/ in North America but /ˈɛlənər/ elsewhere, also spelled as Elinor, Elenor, Eleanore, or Elynor) is a female given name.

Etymology

The name derives from the Provençal name Aliénor which became "Eléanor" or "Eleonore" in the northern Langue d'oïl and from there also to English.^[1]

The origin and meaning of Aliénor is unknown, and several possible etymologies has been proposed. It may be a Provençal variation of the Italian Elena which in turn is a variation of the Greek Ἑλένη.^[1] It may also derive from Latin lenire, to soothe or to heal.^{[citation needed]} Another suggested source may be the Germanic name Aldenor, "old north".^{[2][unreliable source?]} Popular 'nicknames' for Eleanor include Ellie, Ella, Ellin/Ellen, Nellie/Nelly, Ennie/Enna, Leane/Liann, Elanne, Elea (El-ee), Leanor/Leanora, Lena/Leana and Anor/Anora/Anna.

As Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122?/1124?-1204) was the first high profile bearer of the name and as she was the daughter of Aénor de Châtellerault it has been suggested that the name Eleanor originated with Eleanor of Aquitaine, the postulation being that Eleanor of Aquitaine was named Aénor after her mother but referred to as Aliénor that name representing "Alia-Aénor" i.e. the other Aénor. However there is evident usage of the name Eleanor predating Eleanor of Aquitaine: while there are no evident sources contemporary with the personage later referred to as Eleanor of Normandy (b.1011?/1013?) which refer to her by name,^[3] there is no reason to question that Eleanor of Champagne (1102–1147) was in fact named Eleanor.

Cognates of the name in different languages include Leonor (Portuguese pronunciation: [le.o.ˈnoɾ]) (Spanish and Portuguese), Eléonore (French), Eleonora (Italian), Leonora or Leonore (German), Lenora and Lenore. The similar Hebrew name Elior means "God is light".^[4] The similar-sounding Arabic Allahu Nuri also means "God is my light"; the modern version is Nurullah (Noorullah) ("light of God").^{[citation needed]}

Notable People

• Queen Eleanor (disambiguation), multiple queens named Eleanor
• Eleanor of England, multiple English princesses
• Eleanor Audley (1905–1991), American actress
• Eleanor Boardman (1898–1991), American actress
• Eleanor Bron (born 1938), British actress and author
• Eleanor Duckworth (born 1935), Canadian psychologist and educator
• Eleanor Lansing Dulles (1895–1996), American economist and diplomat
• Elinor Donahue (born 1937), American actress
• Eleonora Dziekiewicz (born 1978), Polish volleyball player
• Elinor Fair (1903–1957), American actress
• Eleanor Friedberger (born 1976), American musician
• Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965), British writer
• Elinor Glyn (1864–1943), British novelist
• Eleanor Helin (1932–2009), American astronomer
• Eleanor Hibbert (1906–1993), British novelist
• Eleanor Marx (1855–1898), British writer and daughter of Karl Marx
• Eleanor Montgomery (born 1946), American high jumper
• Eleanor Holmes Norton (born 1937), American politician
• Elinor Joseph (born 1991), Israeli soldier
• Elinor Ostrom (born 1933), American political scientist and Nobel prize winner
• Eleanor Parker (born 1922), American actress
• Eleanor Powell (1912–1982), American tap dancer and actress
• Eleanor Rathbone (1872–1946), British politician
• Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), First Lady of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt
• Eleanor Porter (1868–1920), American novelist
• Elinor Smith (1911–2010), American aviator
• Elinor Wilson, Canadian civil servant
• Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), American writer

Fictional characters

• Elinor Dashwood, in the 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Eleanor Iselin, in the 1959 novel The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
• Eleanor of Tristain, fictional character in the novels and anime The Familiar of Zero
• Elanor Gardner, Samwise Gamgee's daughter in the The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Eleanor Arroway, in the 1985 novel Contact by Carl Sagan
• Eleonora, in the short story "Eleonora" by Edgar Allan Poe
• Eleanor Bramwell, heroine of the 1995 television series Bramwell
• Eleanor Nash, in Degrassi: The Next Generation
• Eleanor Butterbean, in the television series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
• Eleanor Lamb, in the video game BioShock 2
• Eleanor Miller, fictional member of the music group The Chipettes

References

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