Girls' name · peaked in 1915
Eleanor name popularity since 1925
225,677 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Eleanor. Half of them were born in 1956 or earlier, so the typical Eleanor is about 70 years old in 2026. Eleanor peaked in 1915 as the #28 name for girls, and it ranked #12 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 225,677
- Named Eleanor, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1915
- #28 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #12
- for girls in 2025 (7,649 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 225,227 girls · 450 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 2.16× its national share
Peak year is the year Eleanor made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Eleanor births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Eleanor peaked earlier, in 1915.
- Steepest fall: Between 1942 and 1947, Eleanor's share of baby girls fell by 55%, from 1 in 427 to 1 in 957.
- Fastest rise: Between 2009 and 2014, it became 2.6× more common, from 1 in 1,240 baby girls to 1 in 478.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Eleanor's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Eleanor.
Decade by decade
Babies named Eleanor in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 34,392 | 118 | – |
| 1930s | 46,379 | 193 | #48 |
| 1940s | 23,761 | 76 | #130 |
| 1950s | 11,065 | 7 | #257 |
| 1960s | 5,938 | 0 | #372 |
| 1970s | 2,750 | 0 | #650 |
| 1980s | 2,789 | 7 | #670 |
| 1990s | 4,871 | 0 | #544 |
| 2000s | 11,187 | 5 | #264 |
| 2010s | 40,129 | 12 | #60 |
| 2020–25 | 41,966 | 32 | #12 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.6% of babies named Eleanor from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Eleanor is most popular
The index compares Eleanor's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Eleanor.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2.16× | 11,567 |
| Vermont | 1.93× | 726 |
| Maine | 1.82× | 1,752 |
| Rhode Island | 1.78× | 1,423 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.76× | 20,158 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Eleanor and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Eleanor (this page) | 225,227 | 1915 |
| Elanor | 1,793 | 2023 |
| Elenor | 1,357 | 1884 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Eleanor's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Eleanor.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Eleanor (1915).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data