Head to head · Girls' names
Eleanor vs Elizabeth
#12 vs #17 in 2025
Eleanor is a whisker ahead (#12 vs #17 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Eleanor is climbing the charts fast, Elizabeth is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Eleanor leads 3 measures of 6; Elizabeth 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, Elizabeth #4 — Elizabeth higher
- 1890s: Eleanor #104, Elizabeth #5 — Elizabeth higher
- 1900s: Eleanor #74, Elizabeth #6 — Elizabeth higher
- 1910s: Eleanor #34, Elizabeth #8 — Elizabeth higher
- 1920s: Eleanor #31, Elizabeth #11 — Elizabeth higher
- 1930s: Eleanor #48, Elizabeth #17 — Elizabeth higher
- 1940s: Eleanor #124, Elizabeth #24 — Elizabeth higher
- 1950s: Eleanor #253, Elizabeth #22 — Elizabeth higher
- 1960s: Eleanor #402, Elizabeth #17 — Elizabeth higher
- 1970s: Eleanor #609, Elizabeth #15 — Elizabeth higher
- 1980s: Eleanor #660, Elizabeth #10 — Elizabeth higher
- 1990s: Eleanor #518, Elizabeth #9 — Elizabeth higher
- 2000s: Eleanor #293, Elizabeth #10 — Elizabeth higher
- 2010s: Eleanor #83, Elizabeth #12 — Elizabeth higher
- 2020s: Eleanor #16, Elizabeth #16
Elizabeth stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Eleanor | Elizabeth |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #123 | #4 |
| 1890s | #104 | #5 |
| 1900s | #74 | #6 |
| 1910s | #34 | #8 |
| 1920s | #31 | #11 |
| 1930s | #48 | #17 |
| 1940s | #124 | #24 |
| 1950s | #253 | #22 |
| 1960s | #402 | #17 |
| 1970s | #609 | #15 |
| 1980s | #660 | #10 |
| 1990s | #518 | #9 |
| 2000s | #293 | #10 |
| 2010s | #83 | #12 |
| 2020s | #16 | #16 |
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
Elizabeth
- Canada#23
- England & Wales#62
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.
Elizabeth
my God is an oath
Hebrew Elisheva: el, God, with sheva. Because the word means both an oath and seven, the name is read as my God is an oath and, less often, as my God is abundance. The Beersheba story shows the ambiguity working in the text itself rather than only in the dictionary.
Elisheva → Elisabet → Elizabeth
How it traveled
Elisheva is Aaron's wife in Exodus, named in a single verse. The name reappears in Luke as the mother of John the Baptist, an old woman told she will have a child, and the scene where Mary visits her is one of the few in the Gospels where two women talk to each other.
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.
Elizabeth
ih-LIZ-uh-beth
Four syllables, stress on the second. The th at the end is a sound most of the world's languages do not have, which is why every other European version of the name changed it.
- Liz — The commonest American clip; plain, adult and used at work.
- Beth — The quieter option, and a full name in its own right.
- Libby — From a small child's attempt at the whole word; now given alone as well.
- Eliza — A full name of its own since the seventeenth century.
- Also Betty, Elsie.
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
Elizabeth
Elizabeth II (b. 1926) — Britain's longest-reigning monarch — 70 years on the throne
Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533) — Queen of England's Golden Age, the era of Shakespeare
Elizabeth Taylor (b. 1932) — Violet-eyed Hollywood legend with two Oscars — and Cleopatra
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 on the way upup 10 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesEleanor is 3 syllables to Elizabeth's 4
Choose Elizabeth if you want…
- a name holding steadyElizabeth is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itElizabeth runs 4 syllables, Eleanor 3
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Liz, Beth and Libby
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.
Elizabeth
Strengths
- More short forms than any other name in English, at every possible register.
- Recognized in every European language, usually without translation.
- A documented Hebrew meaning and continuous use for more than two thousand years.
To consider
- It is one of the most given names in the English-speaking world and always has been.
- The short forms are so numerous that a child may end up called several things at once.
- It is nine letters and four syllables on every form she will ever fill in.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth?
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.
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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
Every list here names both Eleanor and Elizabeth — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Eleanor or Elizabeth — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Eleanor or Elizabeth?
- Eleanor, in 2025: Eleanor ranked #12 with 7,649 babies; Elizabeth ranked #17 with 6,760 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Eleanor or Elizabeth?
- Eleanor. Over the last five years Eleanor moved up 10 places; Elizabeth moved down 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Eleanor or Elizabeth?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Eleanor and Elizabeth?
- About 147,000 people named Eleanor are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 1,160,000 people named Elizabeth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Eleanors or Elizabeths in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 8 classrooms will have a child named Eleanor. Roughly 1 in 10 classrooms will have a child named Elizabeth.
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
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