Penelope Name Meaning

An old-school gem making her presence known on the charts, Penelope is a precious name for any little girl. Meaning “the weaver,” Penelope is very much in fashion without coming off as trendy.

She’s still a pleasant surprise when she’s announced despite her popularity, turning heads with her arrival. Lengthy like Elizabeth and Katherine but melodic to say aloud, Penelope shines alongside similar names like Liliana and Valentina. She’s also a literary name with various authors bearing her name dotting the shelves of history with their words.

Penelope may have a great big name, but she’s still a little one at heart. Curious and creative, she’s as crafty as her name, weaving her way into hearts. She carries her name well, proud to stand out whenever she has the chance. She’s delicate yet decadent – simple yet flashy. She has a style that’s hard to match but isn’t as pretentious as others. She’s a name as flexible as she is beautiful, easily molding into smaller nicknames to fit the feel. A little Penelope is sure to know the sky isn’t the limit – it’s just the beginning.

Nicknames are plentiful for Penelope with Pen, Penny, Nelly, and Poppy among the many choices. Similar names include Persephone, Phoebe, and Calliope.

Infographic of Penelope name meaning, which is From the Greek pene, meaning threads, Penelope is a name dating back to the 16th century.
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Penelope Name Popularity

How popular is the name Penelope? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 — 0 0%
1911 — 0 0%
1912 — 0 0%
1913 — 0 0%
1914 — 5 0.0007%
1915 — 7 0.0008%
1916 — 12 0.0012%
1917 — 0 0%
1918 — 17 0.0016%
1919 — 18 0.0017%
1920 — 29 0.0026%
1921 — 11 0.001%
1922 — 24 0.0022%
1923 — 26 0.0023%
1924 — 31 0.0027%
1925 — 35 0.0031%
1926 — 17 0.0015%
1927 — 21 0.0019%
1928 — 25 0.0023%
1929 — 17 0.0016%
1930 — 23 0.0022%
1931 — 8 0.0008%
1932 — 16 0.0016%
1933 — 0 0%
1934 — 17 0.0018%
1935 — 23 0.0024%
1936 — 52 0.0054%
1937 — 122 0.0124%
1938 — 140 0.0137%
1939 — 325 0.032%
1940 — 383 0.036%
1941 — 499 0.0443%
1942 — 622 0.0493%
1943 — 607 0.0465%
1944 — 643 0.0519%
1945 — 475 0.0389%
1946 — 602 0.0408%
1947 — 770 0.0461%
1948 — 745 0.0467%
1949 — 638 0.0397%
1950 — 611 0.0379%
1951 — 513 0.0303%
1952 — 484 0.0277%
1953 — 483 0.0273%
1954 — 455 0.0249%
1955 — 384 0.0209%
1956 — 333 0.0176%
1957 — 380 0.0197%
1958 — 335 0.0177%
1959 — 354 0.0186%
1960 — 265 0.014%
1961 — 277 0.0147%
1962 — 248 0.0135%
1963 — 263 0.0147%
1964 — 225 0.0128%
1965 — 205 0.0125%
1966 — 157 0.0101%
1967 — 206 0.0136%
1968 — 232 0.0155%
1969 — 313 0.0203%
1970 — 257 0.0161%
1971 — 150 0.01%
1972 — 171 0.0126%
1973 — 169 0.013%
1974 — 114 0.0088%
1975 — 115 0.0089%
1976 — 65 0.005%
1977 — 66 0.0049%
1978 — 57 0.0042%
1979 — 52 0.0037%
1980 — 39 0.0027%
1981 — 33 0.0022%
1982 — 29 0.0019%
1983 — 22 0.0015%
1984 — 22 0.0015%
1985 — 24 0.0016%
1986 — 11 0.0007%
1987 — 31 0.002%
1988 — 19 0.0012%
1989 — 17 0.0011%
1990 — 32 0.0019%
1991 — 24 0.0015%
1992 — 25 0.0016%
1993 — 25 0.0016%
1994 — 29 0.0019%
1995 — 56 0.0037%
1996 — 47 0.0031%
1997 — 72 0.0049%
1998 — 67 0.0045%
1999 — 63 0.0042%
2000 — 82 0.0054%
2001 — 172 0.0114%
2002 — 295 0.0197%
2003 — 307 0.0202%
2004 — 384 0.0252%
2005 — 463 0.0303%
2006 — 617 0.0394%
2007 — 743 0.0471%
2008 — 898 0.0581%
2009 — 1,280 0.0856%
2010 — 1,532 0.1063%
2011 — 1,853 0.1301%
2012 — 2,517 0.1766%
2013 — 4,289 0.3012%
2014 — 5,082 0.3488%
2015 — 5,938 0.4081%
2016 — 6,385 0.4428%
2017 — 6,639 0.4757%
2018 — 6,474 0.4712%
2019 — 6,697 0.4947%
2020 — 5,968 0.4689%
2021 — 5,875 0.4806%
2022 — 6,388 0.4842%
2023 — 6,065 0.4686%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Penelope

If you like Penelope, you’ll love these other names like Penelope.

What names are diminutives of Penelope?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Penelope sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Penelope, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Nell

Horn; sun ray, shining light

Latin

Nellie

Horn; sun ray, shining light

Latin

Nelly

A diminutive form of Helen.

Greek

Penney

Weaver

Greek

Pennie

Weaver

Greek

Penny

Weaver

English

What names are variants of Penelope?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Penelope.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Penelopa

Weaver

Greek

Pennelope

Weaver

Greek

What names sound like Penelope?

If you like how Penelope sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Penelope.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Penina

Pearl or coral

Hebrew

Penna

Weaver

Greek

What names are similar to Penelope?

Find a name that’s like Penelope, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Athena

Wise

Greek

Calista

Cup; fairest, most beautiful

Latin

Camila

Young religious servant

Spanish

Coralie

A variant form of Coral.

English

Eliana

My God has answered

Hebrew

Liliana

Lily flower

English

Lorelei

“The enchantress,” in allusion to the siren of German legend whose singing on reefs in the Rhine lured sailors to their doom.

German

Nova

New

Latin

Paloma

Dove

Latin

Persephone

Bringer of destruction

Greek

Lists With Penelope

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Penelope.

Siblings of Penelope

Mamas with kids named Penelope also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Thomas

Twin

Greek

Penny

Weaver

English

Jack

God is gracious

English

Maud

A diminutive form of Mathilda, Magdalene, Matilda, etc.

French

Theodore

God's gift

Greek

Clara

Bright and clear

Latin

26 Comments

  1. We chose it because it’s classic and not very common. I like that the name can have many nicknames too!

    Reply

  2. It was the only name me and my partner would agree on. And we love the name. You don’t hear the name often. Unique.

    Reply

  3. We watched a movie long before I was pregnant where a character was named Penelope and both loved it! When we found out I was pregnant that was still THE girls name for us. We really like that it’s not such a common name, that it can be shortened to Penny and that it works in many different languages (very important to us since she’ll be brought up bilingual, my husband is from the US and I’m German)

    Reply

  4. Penelope’s name is Greek in origin which was important to us since her daddy is Greek! We call her Poppy and sometimes her dad calls her pop tart haha

    Reply

  5. She just looked like a Penelope to me. 🙂

    Reply

  6. We chose the name because my husband and I like it and always talked about this name if we had a girl.

    Reply

  7. I like how old fashioned and feminine it sounds. Sometime we call her Penny which is just so cutesy.

    Reply

  8. I just love the name Penelope

    Reply

  9. Raquel is her first name but she goes by her middle name. Raquel is a family name on my husband’s side and Penelope was simply a name I always loved.

    Reply

  10. I like that it’s unique but not too strange of a first name.

    Reply

  11. I love the literary reference, the nicknames associated, the flow of it.

    Reply

  12. I was born in 1968. Named after my father’s wood work teacher’s daughter. Although official called Penelope, I’ve always been known as Pen or Penny. Middle name is Joy. Unfortunately my maiden was King! This caused a few laughs! I love my name 🙂 x

    Reply

  13. My name is Penelope I love it my family calls me peb or pebbles or pepperoni these are some nick name that I would like to share for every little girl be strong and loud tell people that you are boss and no one can tell you what to do except for the adults like your dad and mom

    Reply

    • My name is Penelope I am artistic and cheerful so i like to have fun watch memes cuz they’re funny!!!

      Reply

  14. I thought the name was cute when Kourtney Kardashian had her daughter back when I was in like 8th grade

    Reply

  15. My husband and I both liked Penelope. We call her Penny. She is a twin and she’s was over a pound smaller than her sister, Maud, so we thought a little Penny was fitting. ?

    Reply

  16. I love greek name, it is not too common and easy to pronounce in italian (our homecountry) but also in english, with similar pronunciations

    Reply

  17. I love the name Penelope. I just think it is cute and fun. It gives her a different but timeless name.

    Reply

  18. I felt this was very much “her”.

    Reply

  19. Peanut and sweet P is her nicknames we love Penelope Mae

    Reply

  20. I saw the name years ago and have always loved it but when it came time to chose it was hard to say I wanted it as my final choice. It was between Penelope and Charlotte for 3 days after she was born.

    Reply

  22. We Wanted an original name a little bit old school but something also modern

    Reply

  23. I love that the name Penelope sounds both sophisticated and whimsical at the same time. I also love that there are multiple good nicknames for it (Penny, Nellie, Nell, and more). At 10 months, we’re still calling her Penelope and waiting to see which nickname will suite her best!

    Reply

    • I like your name

      Reply

  24. Our daughter Penny’s full name is Penelope. We liked her having a more formal name, and she thinks it’s fun having “two first names.” We only get positive comments on her name, and haven’t had too many issues with people spelling or pronouncing it correctly.

    Reply

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