Head to head · Girls' names
Eleanor vs Eliana
#12 vs #10 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Eliana is a whisker ahead (#10 vs #12 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote2 votes
Which one would you pick?
2 parents have voted — the split shows after you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Eliana leads 4 measures of 6; Eleanor leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Eleanor #123, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1890s: Eleanor #104, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1900s: Eleanor #74, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1910s: Eleanor #34, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1920s: Eleanor #31, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1930s: Eleanor #48, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1940s: Eleanor #124, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1950s: Eleanor #253, Eliana — — Eleanor higher
- 1960s: Eleanor #402, Eliana #4496 — Eleanor higher
- 1970s: Eleanor #609, Eliana #4318 — Eleanor higher
- 1980s: Eleanor #660, Eliana #1817 — Eleanor higher
- 1990s: Eleanor #518, Eliana #885 — Eleanor higher
- 2000s: Eleanor #293, Eliana #331 — Eleanor higher
- 2010s: Eleanor #83, Eliana #114 — Eleanor higher
- 2020s: Eleanor #16, Eliana #34 — Eleanor higher
Eleanor stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Eleanor | Eliana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #123 | — |
| 1890s | #104 | — |
| 1900s | #74 | — |
| 1910s | #34 | — |
| 1920s | #31 | — |
| 1930s | #48 | — |
| 1940s | #124 | — |
| 1950s | #253 | — |
| 1960s | #402 | #4496 |
| 1970s | #609 | #4318 |
| 1980s | #660 | #1817 |
| 1990s | #518 | #885 |
| 2000s | #293 | #331 |
| 2010s | #83 | #114 |
| 2020s | #16 | #34 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Eleanor
- Canada#31
- England & Wales#67
Eliana
- Canada#43
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Eleanor
Not established
Eleanor comes from Provencal Alienor and its origin has never been established. The reading light, from a Greek word, does not work phonetically and is a later attachment. A derivation from an older Germanic name has been proposed and not demonstrated. One of the most used names in Europe has no known meaning.
Alienor → Eleanor
How it traveled
The name came to England with a specific woman. Eleanor of Aquitaine inherited the largest duchy in France at fifteen, married the king of France, went on crusade with him, had the marriage annulled, married the man who became king of England eight weeks later, and had eight children including two kings.
Eliana
Either "my God has answered me" (Hebrew) or a feminine form of the Roman family name Aelius
Two genuine sources meet at this spelling. The Hebrew אֱלִיאָנָה combines El, "God," with the root for "answered" — "my God has answered me." Separately, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Eliana descends from Latin Aeliana, the feminine of Aelianus, from the Roman gens name Aelius, whose own meaning was never established. Neither reading is a mistake; which one applies depends on which family line a given Eliana comes down.
Aelius → Aeliana → Éliane → Eliana
How it traveled
The Hebrew name is built from ordinary religious language — El for God, plus the verb for answering a prayer — and belongs to the same family of names as Eliezer and Elisheva. The Latin Aeliana comes from Aelius, a well-attested Roman family name, and passed through the Romance languages as Eliana in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and Éliane in French.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Eleanor
EL-uh-nor
Three syllables, stress on the first, with the middle reduced almost to nothing. British speakers often give it three full syllables. Spanish Leonor has two and puts the weight at the end.
- Nell — An old English pet form, made by mishearing mine Ell as my Nell; a full name of its own.
- Nora — The back half; a settled name in its own right across Europe.
- Ellie — The commonest modern clip; shared with Ella, Elizabeth and Eleanora.
- Leni — The German clip of the same name, given alone there.
Eliana
el-ee-AH-nuh
The common American pronunciation stresses the third syllable with an open ah. Some families say eh-lee-AN-uh, rhyming the ending with Anna, and Hebrew speakers place more weight on the final syllable. All are correct for their tradition, so expect to state your preference occasionally.
- Ellie — The most common short form in American use; also given as a full name on its own.
- Ella — Informal, and independently a popular given name, so it rarely reads as a nickname.
- Lia — Drawn from the second half of the name; standard in Italian and Portuguese usage and a given name in its own right.
- Ana — Used in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking families, where it is also a complete name.
- Also Eli.
One short form, two names
- Eleanor and Eliana both shorten to Ellie.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Who has carried each name
Eleanor
Eleanor Roosevelt (b. 1884) — Longest-serving First Lady, drove the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Eleanor of Aquitaine (b. 1124) — Medieval queen of both France and England
Eleanor H. Porter (b. 1868) — Wrote Pollyanna
Eliana
No documented entry for Eliana yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Eleanor if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesEleanor is 3 syllables to Eliana's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooEleanor is on the national lists of Canada and England & Wales
- a long American recordEleanor was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 75% for Eliana
Choose Eliana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 43 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEliana runs 4 syllables, Eleanor 3
- a newer arrivalEliana entered the US charts in 1961
- a name that feels very nowEliana is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Eleanor
Strengths
- Four short forms of genuinely different registers, three of which are full names elsewhere.
- Recognized without translation in French, Spanish, Italian, German and Polish.
- Documented continuous use for nine hundred years, with named bearers in every century.
To consider
- It has no established meaning, which matters if the meaning is why you chose it.
- Elinor, Eleanore and Elanor are all in use, so the spelling will occasionally be given.
- It is climbing hard at the moment, so an Eleanor will not be the only one for long.
Eliana
Strengths
- Reads and pronounces the same in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, which matters in a multilingual family.
- Comes with short forms already in circulation — Ellie, Ella, Lia — none of which need explaining.
- Phonetic in English: people can usually spell it after hearing it once.
To consider
- Elianna, with two n's, competes closely with this spelling, so you will likely be asked which one you mean for the rest of her life.
- The wave is very recent and still rising, so the name currently belongs strongly to young children rather than to all ages.
- Ellie and Ella are the default nicknames for a long list of popular names right now — she may share them with several classmates.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Eleanor
12%chance Eleanor feels dated by 2040
Eleanor has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Eliana
75%chance Eliana feels dated by 2040
Eliana is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Eleanor and Eliana in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Eleanor and Eliana?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- Gorgeous — and about to be everywhere
- Names at their all-time peak, right now
- all guides
Every list here names both Eleanor and Eliana — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Eleanor or Eliana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Eleanor or Eliana?
- Eliana, in 2025: Eliana ranked #10 with 8,191 babies; Eleanor ranked #12 with 7,649 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Eleanor or Eliana?
- Eliana. Over the last five years Eleanor moved up 10 places; Eliana moved up 43 places.
- Which is the older name, Eleanor or Eliana?
- Eleanor was already in use when US records began in 1880; Eliana entered the US charts in 1961. On the American record, Eleanor is the older name.
- How many people are named Eleanor and Eliana?
- About 147,000 people named Eleanor are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 75,500 people named Eliana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Eleanor and Eliana share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Ellie, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Eleanor, Eliana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap