I absolutely adore it. It is SO classy and gracious and elegant and timeless and strong and gorgeous and I could go on and on... :) The name
Eleanor has always reminded me of a string of pearls: just perfectly classy. I like all of the nn possibilities, especially
Nell. I see it as an "antique" name, not "old" at all. It is along the same lines for me as
Lillian,
Viola,
Margaret, etc., all of which I love, but even better than those. I think a little
Eleanor would be gorgeous, and its actually one of the names on my "I-will-name-my-future-child-this" short list. Especially since
Ellie and
Nora are so common now, I don't think it would be seen as unusual at all. I personally prefer
Eleanor by just a bit, but
Elinor is very pretty as well, and I also rather like
Elanor for the LOTR connection and meaning.
Don't give up! :)