My husband and I are seriously considering naming one of our daughters [name]Eleonore[/name]. This is the authentic French spelling, and since her name will be used in French half the time, it works best ([name]Eleanor[/name] really doesn’t work in French). I adore the name, I’m concerned about the spelling. Does it come off as “creative”? [name]Do[/name] you think it will be mispronounced? What do you think?
[name]Hi[/name], [name]Sophia[/name]. [name]Eleonore[/name]/[name]Eleanor[/name] is a beautiful name (I [name]LOVE[/name] it!). As I used to speak French (I only recall bits and pieces!), I recognized the name as the French [name]Eleanor[/name], but had I not been familiar with French, I would definitely have thought I was looking at a typo of [name]Eleanor[/name].
Because [name]Eleanor[/name] is a classic name, it’s not one associated with intentional misspellings, a la [name]Hayleigh[/name], [name]Caylee[/name] and other trendy names, which is why I think people will assume it’s a typo as opposed to a yooneek spelling. Some people may not even notice, quite honestly.
If it makes you feel any better, “creative” spellings drive me batty, and I wasn’t worried by [name]Eleonore[/name]. 
That said, I do think that many English speakers will definitely mispronounce it (el-ee-on-ore) and misspell it, so I guess it comes down to how much it will bother you. You can always correct people, and as you said, the name will be in French half of the time. If you think it will drive you crazy to hear it mispronounced and misspelled, maybe you could use it as a middle name, and select another name that works well in both countries.
If you feel like using another name:
[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name]/[name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] (This is actually my best friend’s name, and she happens to be French.)
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name]
[name]Cecile[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Isabeau[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]/[name]Juliette[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Marielle[/name]
[name]Madeleine[/name]
[name]Maude[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Simone[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Vivienne[/name]
Best wishes to you!
[quote=“jill”][name]Hi[/name], [name]Sophia[/name]. [name]Eleonore[/name]/[name]Eleanor[/name] is a beautiful name (I [name]LOVE[/name] it!). I recognized the name as the French [name]Eleanor[/name], but had I not been familiar with French, I would definitely have thought I was looking at a typo of [name]Eleanor[/name].
Because [name]Eleanor[/name] is a classic name, it’s not one associated with intentional misspellings, a la [name]Hayleigh[/name], [name]Caylee[/name] and other trendy names, which is why I think people will assume it’s a typo as opposed to a yooneek spelling. Some people may not even notice, quite honestly.
If it makes you feel any better, “creative” spellings drive me batty, and I wasn’t worried by [name]Eleonore[/name].
That said, I do think that many English speakers will definitely mispronounce it (el-ee-on-ore) and misspell it, so I guess it comes down to how much it will bother you. You can always correct people, and as you said, the name will be in French half of the time. If you think it will drive you crazy to hear it mispronounced and misspelled, maybe you could use it as a middle name, and select another name that works well in both countries.
If you feel like using another name:
[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name]/[name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]
Amadine
[name]Arabella[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Claire[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] (This is actually my best friend’s name, and she happens to be French.)
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name]
[name]Cecile[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Estelle[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Isabeau[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]/[name]Juliette[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Leonie[/name] (very much like [name]Eleanor[/name])
[name]Marielle[/name]
[name]Madeleine[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name]
[name]Maude[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Simone[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Vivienne[/name]
Best wishes to you!
I am not an expert by any means… So maybe my perspective is representative of the name [name]Lay[/name]-person, but I don’t see the name enough to know what is more or less common. I find the additional e very pretty!
I think her issue is with Eleo as opposed to [name]Elea[/name], but it’s great that you didn’t notice! I honestly don’t think many people will notice the change in spelling… It’s quite subtle.
Being someone who has a French name ([name]Margot[/name]), who loves the name [name]Eleanor[/name] in any form except [name]Elinor[/name] (but always with the nickname [name]Nell[/name]!), and who falls for all things French, I think [name]Eleonore[/name] is fine. If her name will primarily be used in French, I’d use the French spelling. There will be a little bit of confusion in the English speaking world, but compared to the Britneighs and Kaelahs out there [name]Eleonore[/name]'s lovely. I’ve learned to live with having my name misspelled. Only for important things do I stress it.
I love French names my self so What about
[name]Elise[/name]
[name]Monique[/name]
Channtelle
[name]Elaine[/name]
[name]Chanel[/name]
[name]Macy[/name]
[name]Nichola[/name]
…or if you don`t like ours try the websites
TRY
.[name]BABY[/name] HOLD. COM OR
.BABYNOLAGY. COM
they have over 1000 names too!