My first thought was to consider
Lenora a variant of
Lenore, which I very much like.
Leonora didn't connect for me until I read your post. Despite knowing they share the same source,
Leonora (which I also quite like) is a "lion", in my mind, so I don't even think of
Eleanor. Never have cared as much for
Leonore as for
Leonora; don't know why that is, other than that I also like
Nora. I prefer
Lenore over
Lenora but definitely like
Lenora. Your classmate picked a lovely name. :)