[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanore[/name_f], [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
[name_m]How[/name_m] do you pronounce each of these names, and in what country do you reside?
[name_m]How[/name_m] would you spell the name [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-uh-ner?
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]-[name_f]ELL[/name_f]-eh-ner
[name_f]Eleanore[/name_f]-[name_f]El[/name_f]-EY-nor
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f]-el-eh-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]
[name_u]Berry[/name_u] from [name_f]England[/name_f] 
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] would be “[name_f]ELL[/name_f]-uh-nor”. The [name_f]Eleanore[/name_f]/[name_f]Eleonore[/name_f] spellings could be [name_m]French[/name_m] or [name_m]German[/name_m] so they would be pronounced differently ([name_f]France[/name_f]: the “e” in the second syllable would be accented so it would be said like “e-lay-o-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]” and the final “e” would be pronounced in [name_m]German[/name_m] speaking countries as “uh”.) I don’t know if the pronunciation you want “[name_f]ELL[/name_f]-uh-ner” actually exists without making up a spelling (Ellaner?). I’ve never heard it pronounced that way. It’s “or” not “er” in my area of [name_f]Canada[/name_f] (English speaking). [name_f]My[/name_f] favourite spelling is [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], then [name_f]Elinor[/name_f].
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] - [name_f]ELL[/name_f]- eh- nor
[name_f]Eleanore[/name_f] - [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-ay-ah-[name_f]NOR[/name_f], or, if [name_m]German[/name_m], [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-ay-ah-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]-eh
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] - [name_f]ELL[/name_f]- ih - nor (In [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Elinor[/name_f], the middle syllable is practically a schwa sound, so the two sound nearly identical)
None of them end in -ner for me, all end in nor as in [name_f]Nora[/name_f]. I am from upstate [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m] in the U.S. If someone said [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-uh-ner I’d be most likely to think they were saying [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] in a different accent from mine, and I’d default to spelling that as [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] since it seems the most common spelling. OR, I’d think it was a creative variation on [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], like Ellener or something.
BUT - if you have a non-rhotic accent, so -ner actually sounds more like -neh, I’d either think you were saying [name_f]Elena[/name_f] (prn [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-eh-na instead of Ee-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na) or think it was the [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] spelling. The “e” on [name_f]Eleanore[/name_f] makes it seem like the “r” should be voiced.
From [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_f]England[/name_f]: I would pronounce them all [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-nor. None of them would get a -ner at the end the way they are spelled. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorite is [name_f]Elinor[/name_f], mainly because I adore Sense & Sensibility.
I would pronounce all of them [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-nore. To get [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-uh-ner I would use spelling [name_f]Elena[/name_f] or [name_f]Ellena[/name_f]. I’m from [name_m]Wales[/name_m], UK.
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanore[/name_f], [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
- [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-eh-nor
- [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-nOr (I sort of stretch the o a bit more) / [name_f]El[/name_f]-lea-nor-eh (it’s not really used here, it would be [name_f]Eleonore[/name_f])
- [name_f]EL[/name_f]-lee-nor
I’m from Germany but that’s how I would pronounce them in English.
Im an [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]! but my mum pronounces it [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-uh-nuh and my dad pronounces it [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-a-nor
Im from [name_f]England[/name_f] but live in a french speaking country so I get [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-on-ore spelt [name_f]Eleonore[/name_f] with an accent (I dont have a french keyboard!) on the first e.
For [name_f]Elinor[/name_f], I would pronounce it [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-ih-nor and I also have welsh reletives so I get [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] pronounced [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-ih-nor or just a complete alternative on the spelling of my name like Ellanor or often Alinor which I quite like!
I would say it really does depend on the place you live in and I hope I’ve helped
Thank you, everyone! It really does seem to depend on where you live. Which name do you think would create the least amount of confusion for a family dividing time between U.S. and U.K.? Or, would it be better to just use a nickname like [name_f]Ella[/name_f]?
I’m from Australia, and I pronounce them all the same: [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-uh-naw. I love the name so much! I think my favourite spelling is [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f].
To get [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-ner, I would probably go for [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
Best of luck!
I don’t see any spelling of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] causing too much cross-cultural confusion. Being from the U.S., I wouldn’t think [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-neh was a mispronunciation of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] from a U.K. native. I’d think that was how it sounded in their accent.
BUT: if you want a name that sounds identical in both countries, and is pronounced [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-eh-neh, you might want to go with [name_f]Elena[/name_f], Ellana or [name_f]Ellena[/name_f] (or something that doesn’t end in an R, which can get tricky in rhotic v non-rhotic countries).
The thing is, most names sound different in different accents, even if only in the way the vowels are fronted. These are all great choices. If you have no more affinity for one spelling or the other, I’d go with [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] simply because it’s the most typical spelling.