Leonora
Feminine
Leonora is Eleanor with the front removed, and Eleanor's own origin is one of the field's long-running arguments — a Provençal name that reached England with a formidable queen.
How old is the name Leonora?
Leonora was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leonora alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 3,500 people named Leonora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leonora most popular?
Leonora peaked in 1880, reaching #309 nationally. Today it ranks #1769, 1,460 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Leonora appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Alienor to Leonora
The story of Leonora
Eleanor of Aquitaine brought the name to England in the twelfth century, and Italian and Spanish made Leonora and Leonor from it. Beethoven's only opera was originally called Leonore, and its heroine — who disguises herself as a man to rescue her husband from prison — is one of the great roles. American use of Leonora peaked around 1885.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Eleanor's origin is unsettled. The commonest account treats it as a Provençal form of Helen, whose own Greek origin is itself unrecovered. Another reads the first element as the Germanic ali, 'other', or as the Arabic al-nur, 'the light', which is repeated often but poorly evidenced.
How the name formed
- Alienor
- Eleanor
- Leonora
Related forms: Leonora · Leonor · Leonore · Eleanor
Pronouncing Leonora
lee-uh-NOR-uh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Italian says leh-oh-NO-ra with the same stress.
Nicknames for Leonora
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1924138 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #309reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- +56.2%114 in 2025, from 73
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Leonora in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leonora in Italian — same name
- Leonor in Spanish — related form
- Leonore in German — spelling variant
- Eleanor in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Leonoras among us
people named Leonora are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 14,099 born in 2025 was named Leonora
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Leonora is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Leonora is headed
Leonora looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 21% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Leonora beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leonora in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Eleanor stands behind it with a documented royal history and eight hundred years of English use.
- Nora and Leo are both available and both are fashionable in their own right.
- It is standard in Italian without any change of spelling.
- Eleanor's own meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
- It is a long name in an era that has favored shorter ones.
- It is strongly period-coded to the late nineteenth century.
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What they receive
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Leonora
Feminine · #1769 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leonoras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,500 people named Leonora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leonora in 2025?
- Leonora ranks #1769 among US girl names in 2025, with 114 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leonora?
- About 1 in every 14,099 US girls born in 2025 was named Leonora — 114 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leonora with classmates?
- Leonora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leonora
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Saphira#1769 · Minha#1769 · Gwyneth#1769 · Cimani#1769 · Vivianne#1769 · Adalie#1769 · Maryann#1769 · Arizbeth#1777
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leonora? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leonora and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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