Penelope
Penelope was the 22nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 6,225 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 21st; the most babies were born in 2019 (6,734). Over the last ten years it has moved up 12 places. More babies were named Penelope in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Ancient Greek
Say it puh-NEL-uh-pee /pəˈnɛləpi/
- Rank in 2025
- #22 girls, up 4 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 6,225girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20196,734 babies
- Total since 1880
- 109,533babies recorded
What does the name Penelope mean?
Penelope is the name of Odysseus's faithful wife in Homer's Odyssey. Its origin is uncertain. A link to a Greek word for a kind of duck (penelops) is often suggested, but both Wiktionary and DMNES treat it as only possible. DMNES dates English use to the 16th century, with an example from 1581.
Πηνελόπη (Ancient Greek, “Penelope (Odysseus's wife)”)πηνέλοψ (Ancient Greek, “a duck, perhaps wigeon (proposed source)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The 'duck' link is a proposal, not settled.
See also: Greek names.
Nicknames for Penelope
The usual nicknames for Penelope are Penny, Pen and Nell. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Penelope in the last five years, 6 were named Penny, against 12 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penny | Traditional | #740 | 1,990 |
| Pen | Modern | — | — |
| Nell · also for Eleanor, Helen, Helena | Traditional | #1,628 | 617 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Penelopes go by each one.
Penelope popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 53 since 2015.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #22 | 6,225 |
| 2020 | #26 | 6,152 |
| 2010 | #200 | 1,547 |
| 2000 | #1,419 | 131 |
| 1990 | #2,194 | 59 |
| 1980 | #1,470 | 83 |
| 1970 | #571 | 315 |
| 1960 | #549 | 316 |
| 1950 | #305 | 646 |
| 1940 | #300 | 439 |
| 1930 | #1,124 | 44 |
| 1920 | #1,013 | 54 |
| 1910 | #1,897 | 8 |
| 1900 | #1,882 | 6 |
| 1890 | #1,488 | 5 |
| 1880 | #917 | 5 |
How popular is Penelope, counting every spelling?
Penelope is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #33 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #22 for Penelope on its own. Together these spellings went to 6,245 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penelope | 6,225 | #22 | 30,853 |
| Pennelope | 13 | #8,234 | 67 |
| Penellope | 7 | #12,868 | 32 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Penelope?
6,225 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Penelope (1.73 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Penelope born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 31. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Penelope.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Penelope?
About 102,900 people born in the US named Penelope are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 5 and 13. That makes Penelope a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Penelope by state
How common Penelope was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Alaska (3.4×), Vermont (2.7×), Rhode Island (2.4×), Maine (2.4×), Wyoming (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Penelope: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Penelope, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Penelope · Sibling names for Penelope
Questions about the name Penelope
What does Penelope mean?
The origin of Penelope is uncertain: the 'duck' link is a proposal, not settled.
How popular is the name Penelope?
Penelope was the 22nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 6,225 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 21st; the most babies were born in 2019 (6,734). Over the last ten years it has moved up 12 places. More babies were named Penelope in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Penelope a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Penelope in the US.
Where is Penelope most popular?
In 2021–2025, Penelope was most common in Alaska (12.78 per 1,000 girls), followed by Vermont and Rhode Island.