In Breton legend it is borne by the mother of Saint Budoc, a 6th-century princess of Brest (however, the name Eleanor was not coined until the 12th century). It was used for a character in Paul Le Flem's opera Le Rossignol de Saint-Malo (1938) and also occurred briefly in the French TV series Kaamelott (as Azénor).
This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590), where it belongs to a sister of Belphoebe who allegorically represents married love and chastity.