Another Aenor

The decision of Madeleine of Sweden and Chris O'Neill to name their daughter, Leonore, has turned the name - and its variants - into one of the most popular royal monikers around.  Leonore is another version of Eleanor and in less than ten years this once forgotten regal name has enjoyed a resurgence that has seen it invade just about every royal court in Europe.  While the name may be rare in Sweden - the princess shares her name with just 128 of her fellow citizens - in the royal houses of the 21st century it's hard to get past go without passing an Eleanor.

Leonore of Sweden is following a royal trend with her first name

The name has several variations so in Spain it became Leonor when the Prince and Princess of Asturias surprised many by choosing it for their first daughter, and the country's future queen, when she arrived in October 2005.  In Belgium, the version Eleonore was used by the then Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde for their youngest child, the princess who was born in April 2008.  And it was spelt as Leonore when Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien used it for their youngest child in June 2006.

The Infanta Leonor of Spain, future queen regnant, was the first of a new wave of royal babies to receive the name Eleanor in one of its many versions

And the newest Leonore shares something more with the Eleanors.  Her middle names pay tribute to other royals. The littlest princess of Sweden bears the name of the late Princess Lilian, who died last year, and who was an influential figure in the life of her grandfather, Carl XVI Gustaf, as well as her mother, Madeleine, and her brother and sister.  Eleonore of Belgium has Fabiola as a middle name in honour of the queen of King Baudouin and is also called Victoria, like her godmother Princess Victoria of Sweden.  

Eleonore of Belgium is fourth in line to her country's throne

The meaning of the name is disputed, with some dictionaries giving it as 'shining light'.  But most historians agree that it actually means something far less inspiring.  Its original meaning is often given as 'the other Aenor'.  It came to prominence in the 12th century as the name of one of the most famous queens of all time - Eleanor of Aquitaine.  In her lifetime, she was known as Alienore or 'Alia Aenor' and her mother's name was Aenor.  It's widely thought that her name, which became the most famous in Europe for a while thanks to her power and determination, was just a way of distinguishing her from her mother.  But Eleanor of Aquitaine distinguished herself far more than that and became first queen consort of France and then queen consort of England before becoming so powerful that her husband, Henry II, put her under house arrest.  In the reigns of her sons, Richard I and King John, she was the power behind the throne.  And as a result, many of the princesses of royal courts across Europe were called Eleanor - or a variation of it.  Many were descended from her, others had parents inspired by her and within a few years it had become such a typical royal name that many used it just because it sounded so regal.

Alia Aenor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Queen of France then England - the first royal Eleanor

Now, 800 years after her death, Europe has a new wave of royal Eleanors.  And while the name may have started as a way of not confusing two women who at the time had little importance between them at the court of powerful Duke of Aquitaine, it became a byword for female royal power and magnificence.  The new generation of other Aenors are following in the footsteps of perhaps the greatest female royal role model of all.