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I disagree with spelling names creatively - especially when it's done to make a name seem more "feminine." And to be totally honest, by "spelling names creatively," I actually mean "misspelling them."

Leanora sounds odd to me. Eleonora seems like a better alternative if you don’t like the “Leo “ beginning. I know an Eleonore who goes by Leo, though, funnily enough.

I actually prefer Leonora, though Leanora isn't bad. But I like Lenore better than either.

This message was edited 10/8/2019, 8:45 PM

I suppose it's because I'm not used to it, but when I looked at it I just saw 'lean' as in 'skinny'. Which meant that I heard it like that in my head; leenora, like Lee + Nora. But I suppose you wanted it to be like Leah + Nora?

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I don't think the Leo- bit sounds masculine anyway. The name Leo has a definite O sound, but the first O in Leonora is a schwa. So maybe it looks masculine? But hearing it would be more frequent than seeing it, surely?

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I can't be bothered to look it up right now - past my bed time - but I think Tennyson wrote a poem, probably one of his more medievalist ones, about someone called Eleänor, so clearly he intended it to have four syllables. I remember being cross because the name only appeared on a line by itself as a refrain, so it wasn't clear where the stress(es) would fall.

I agree, Leanora is better than Leonora - as long as the pronunciation stays the same (lee-uh-nora) and doesn't become Lee-Nora.
Leonora looks like a femininization of Leon - yuck!

This message was edited 10/8/2019, 1:27 PM

I love the masculinity of the Leo in Leonora, mostly because I think it grounds it and makes it less frilly. I also like the look of the repeating O's, just on a visual level. Leanora looks misspelled, to me, and I would read it differently, more like Leen-ora, on first glance.

I prefer the "o" version, or, better yet, Eleanor.

Sorry, it just feels wrong to me. And I think a girl named this would have a lifetime of correcting people. You could still use Lea instead of Leo as a nickname.

much better than Leonora, sounds lovely

Love it!