I have a teacher who’s last name ends with nor and today I realised many people say his name as Nah (so do I) I’m worried that this would turn [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] to [name_f]Elena[/name_f] I love both names but there different ([name_f]Ell[/name_f]-en-or and [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-en-ah). I’m in Australia where Er is said as [name_m]Ah[/name_m]. Is it stupid to be worried? I don’t want [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] to be seen as a misspelling of [name_f]Elena[/name_f]
I doubt it would be taken that way. Isn’t [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] said that way in [name_f]England[/name_f]? I think my friend in Liverpool pronounces [name_f]Elena[/name_f] as Eh-lay-nah. Similar to how she pronounces [name_f]Helena[/name_f]. I am Canadian and pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] as [name_f]El[/name_f]-ee-na, and I think The Vampire Diaries is the same. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-or, OR [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-nah. Totally different for me 
I don’t think anyone would think [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is a misspelling of [name_f]Elena[/name_f], as it’s a name with a long history of use. It’s a lovely name and I think you should use it if you love it.
I can’t speak to the pronunciation issue as the two names sound very different with my accent, but do you hear a difference when you say both names? I would think that even if the “r” is not pronounced, you’d get more of a “oh” sound at the end of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and an “ah” sound on the end of [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
Not everywhere. It seems to differ. I’m in Liverpool too and the girl across the road was [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (el-eh-nor), my cousin [name_f]Helena[/name_f] is (hell-eh-na) and I’d pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] as (eh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na or ell-en-a) depending on the origin of the person who owns it.
Personally, I’ve never understood [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] as ‘el-en-a’ though I’ve heard it that way here. 
The way I look at it is as follows. If someone is going to pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] as ‘el-en-a’, then would the same person pronounce [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f] as ‘el-eh-na-a’? If not, then they should say ‘el-eh-nor’.
Hmmm, I pronounce [name_f]Elena[/name_f] more like [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-uh. That’s how all the Elenas I know say it. I’ve never heard [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-ee-nuh, though I’ve heard of the Eh-lay-nuh pronunciation.
[name_m]Ive[/name_m] been guilty of saying [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] as el-la-nuh if I’ve seen it written down but if that person introduced themselves as el-la-nor then I would say it like that too. Some people still pronounce names wrong even upon hearing the correct way. [name_f]My[/name_f] daughters name starts with sh (sharissa) and is same sound as if you tell someone to be quiet, “shh” but lots of people pronounce it “sur-rissa”
[name_f]El[/name_f]-ee-nah is how I’ve heard it off of a tv show, and the one I know pronounces it this way. It’s likely a cultural thing? I’ve never known it to be [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-uh.
@renrose she isn’t directly in Liverpool, she’s technically in Wallasey, so the accent might differ?
@lawsonhaley - In Russian and Spanish it’s much closer to [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]-uh and pretty much every [name_f]Elena[/name_f] I know is Russian. I’ve never seen the show. I love the name, but wouldn’t use it as I don’t like it pronounced like [name_f]Elaina[/name_f].
The show is where I first heard the name, haha. The [name_f]Elena[/name_f] I know is a [name_f]Helena[/name_f] but is called [name_f]Elena[/name_f] for short, and they pronounce [name_f]Helena[/name_f] as Hel-ee-nah, but I’m not sure where they’re from. She’s about 4, and her grandmother called her using that pronunciation with a thick European accent of some sort, but I couldn’t quite tell.
I’ve just repeatedly said both names out loud - [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
I pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] like el-la-nuh and [name_f]Elena[/name_f] like [name_f]Elaina[/name_f].
I am pronouncing them both incorrectly though, I believe.
Yeah, I’m not actually in Liverpool either 
Some people have a strong Scouse accent, some have a slight one and some - like me - don’t have it at all.
I pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] as eh-leh-nah, but then I’m a [name_m]Geordie[/name_m]! (to be fair, I’m not and don’t have the accent at all, but everyone I know says it that way, and I know several Eleanors who say their name like this). I know it’s not correct, exactly, but I think it’s much much prettier and is far easier; the [name_f]NOR[/name_f] part sounds really harsh in my accent especially.
[name_f]Helena[/name_f], to me, is [name_f]Helen[/name_f] with an extra syllable. The hell-AY-nah pn annoys me for some reason.
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] is el-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nah, or maybe el-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nah, but that feels very American… I desperately want to say ellen-ah. I’ve never actually known anyone with the name, though.
I say both [name_f]Elena[/name_f] and [name_f]Helena[/name_f] like [name_f]Helen[/name_f] and the [name_f]Elena[/name_f] I know is [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-en-ah. I’ve never met an [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] but all names ending with Er are said [name_m]Ah[/name_m] here and I do say then like that as well
Hmm. I’m from the US and have lived in the south and east among accents where dropping the final “r” is very common. For [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] I recall that the “r” is just soft vs. hard rather than left off completely – like [name_f]El[/name_f]-eh-naw rather than el-eh-nuh. Whereas [name_u]Piper[/name_u] for example does become something more like Pi-puh. I think this is due to the unique combination that “nor” creates.
I’m from the pacific northwest originally where we painstakingly pronounce all letters.
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] – I pronounce as [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] or [name_f]El[/name_f]-en-uh.
@aym I say [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Ell[/name_f]-en-aw and [name_u]Piper[/name_u] Pi-puh I’m in Australia
I am Australian and say [name_f]El[/name_f]-en-aw, never el-en-uh. I haven’t heard it pronounced like [name_f]Elena[/name_f] by anyone else I know either.
I’m in Aus but I’m a kiwi.
I think you’ll get a few people saying nor and a few saying nah just because we tend to be lazy.
I don’t think anyone would think its a misspelling though. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] no matter how it’s pronounced is a classic well known name, and I would think more common than [name_f]Elena[/name_f], (I would say [name_f]Elle[/name_f]-ee-nah unless otherwise told as I know it has a few different pronunciations) .
I think most people would recognise it. I just don’t want [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elena[/name_f] to become the same name.
I wouldn’t be worried. If I heard ellen-uh, I would always assume it was [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], as [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is less common (and I’ve never actually come across it tbh.) As you say most other Aussies pronounce the ‘or’ as ‘uh’, then I’d bet they’d all assume it’s [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] too.
I pronounce [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] as ellen-nuh (and [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f] as ellen-or-uh. Sorry [name_u]Ren[/name_u] :p) To really pronounce the ‘or’ ending, to me, sounds like [name_m]Keith[/name_m] [name_m]Lemon[/name_m] trying to be American. I wouldn’t say the ‘or’ in [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], [name_f]Honour[/name_f], governor, colour etc either. English is weird.
@Charlieandperry I know I do say [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] with the or but saying [name_u]Tay[/name_u]-law is weird it’s Taylah