The name Eleanor comes from a French form of the Provencal name Aliénor. The first known bearer of the name was Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century).
She was named after her mother, Ænor de Châtellerault, and called Aliénor (from "Alia-Aenor" meaning "other Aenor").
The meaning of the name Aenor is still unknown.
Famous bearers
Bearers include Eleanor Marx (1855 - 1898), a Marxist author, political activist, and the daughter of the founder of Marxism, Karl Marx;
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962), an American political leader and the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt;
Eleanor Powell (1912 - 1982), an American actress and dancer of the 1930s and 1940s.
