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Penelope

Gender
Girl
Say it
pe-NEL-o-pee
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#35 for girls
US rank, 2025
#22 for girls

Penelope is a girls' name of Greek origin. In 2025 it ranked 35th for girls in the UK (1,251 babies) and 22nd for girls in the US (6,225 babies).

What does Penelope mean?

Greek

In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay while he is away.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Penelope a girl's or a boy's name?

Penelope is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,251 girls in the UK and 6,225 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Penelope in the UK?

Rank in 2025
35th among girls
Babies in 2025
1,251 about 1 in 220 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 7% in five years
Same name in a class
6.1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 1,251 girls in the UK were named Penelope, making it the 35th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 48th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 1,275 girls.

Half of all the girls named Penelope in the UK since 1996 were born between 2016 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 33rd in England and Wales, 71st in Scotland and 111th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1944 (#72), 1954 (#82) and 2024 (#36).

1996Busiest: 1,275 in 20222025
Penelope in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20251,251#35
20241,198#39
20231,227#39
20221,275#36
20211,268#39
20201,079#48
20191,222#43
20181,133#54
20171,087#57
20161,026#67
2015885#71
2014605#106
2013438#140
2012257#216
2011209#266
2010188#285
2009142#348
2008105#442
200774#554
200646#744
200561#598
200456#608
200353#608
200236#762
200132#819
200036#731
199930#819
199832#789
199732#797
199649#563

How popular is Penelope in the US?

Rank in 2025
22nd among girls
Babies in 2025
6,225 about 1 in 260 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 7% in five years
Same name in a class
5.3% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 6,225 girls in the US were named Penelope, making it the 22nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 26th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 6,734 girls.

Half of all the girls named Penelope in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 6,734 in 20192025
Penelope in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20256,225#22
20245,760#28
20236,068#23
20226,430#21
20216,370#23
20206,152#26
20196,734#22
20186,524#26
20176,668#24
20166,400#27
20155,953#34
20145,089#43
20134,292#56
20122,536#125
20111,871#168
20101,547#200
20091,297#253
2008919#359
2007796#409
2006649#482
2005513#558
2004424#646
2003367#712
2002346#716
2001235#939
2000131#1,410
1999102#1,634
1998117#1,456
1997100#1,593
199680#1,824
199594#1,594
199465#2,097
199354#2,346
199263#2,123
199161#2,157
199059#2,169
198942#2,652
198847#2,325
198763#1,837
198654#2,002
198555#1,974
198458#1,837
198367#1,644
198262#1,769
198178#1,528
198083#1,460
1979100#1,270
1978108#1,169
1977119#1,088
1976120#1,032
1975159#842
1974184#759
1973221#675
1972219#676
1971205#733
1970315#571
1969345#531
1968282#569
1967255#596
1966223#641
1965266#584
1964266#614
1963322#540
1962286#584
1961310#567
1960316#547
1959388#495
1958387#484
1957422#460
1956380#478
1955419#434
1954482#394
1953537#365
1952529#359
1951568#332
1950646#305
1949679#297
1948782#275
1947796#271
1946641#289
1945509#304
1944678#265
1943643#275
1942670#267
1941546#273
1940439#300
1939368#325
1938188#486
1937173#501
1936102#652
193569#823
193443#1,062
193340#1,102
193245#1,056
193137#1,175
193044#1,117
192943#1,119
192849#1,069
192757#1,010
192664#931
192566#913
192465#941
192358#976
192261#949
192145#1,136
192054#1,005
191949#1,026
191844#1,102
191732#1,281
191637#1,167
191531#1,258
191416#1,665
191313#1,670
191211#1,718
19117#1,956
19108#1,773
19098#1,607
19080–
19075#2,060
19065#1,951
19050–
19040–
19030–
19025#1,792
19010–
19006#1,722
18990–
18985#1,699
18970–
18966#1,416
18955#1,592
18940–
18936#1,277
18920–
18919#943
18905#1,337
18898#950
18888#959
18870–
18867#897
18850–
18840–
18836#817
18820–
18810–
18805#836

Nicknames for Penelope

Names like Penelope

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Margot, Aurora, Delilah, Phoebe, Mila, Arabella, Aria, Athena, Thea, Emilia, Esme, Maeve

Other spellings of Penelope

Pennelope, Penellope

Names related to Penelope

Penelopi

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe, Iris, Maisie, Lainey

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Penelope: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/penelope, updated 20 October 2026.