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Penny

Gender
Girl
Say it
PEN-ee
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#216 for girls
US rank, 2025
#740 for girls
Style
Big in Northern Ireland

Penny is a girls' name of Greek origin. In 2025 it ranked 216th for girls in the UK (245 babies) and 740th for girls in the US (368 babies).

What does Penny mean?

Greek: pet form of Penelope

Originally a pet form of Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus; it also suggests the English coin.

More on Wiktionary.

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

Penny is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 245 girls in the UK and 368 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Penny in the UK?

Rank in 2025
216th among girls
Babies in 2025
245 about 1 in 1,100 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 18% in five years
Same name in a class
1.2% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 245 girls in the UK were named Penny, making it the 216th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 161st. Its busiest year was 2017, with 373 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Penny than any year since 2013.

Half of all the girls named Penny in the UK since 1996 were born between 2013 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 232nd in England and Wales, 164th in Scotland and 111th in Northern Ireland.

1996Busiest: 373 in 20172025
Penny in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025245#216
2024298#185
2023308#185
2022325#173
2021357#162
2020358#161
2019358#160
2018328#181
2017373#166
2016371#167
2015355#171
2014306#194
2013233#240
2012181#306
2011148#356
2010133#378
200986#510
200869#604
200755#688
200634#932
200539#793
200450#648
200356#586
200238#740
200151#602
200062#519
199957#556
199871#472
199757#533
199683#421

How popular is Penny in the US?

Rank in 2025
740th among girls
Babies in 2025
368 about 1 in 4,400 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 6% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 368 girls in the US were named Penny, making it the 740th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 725th. Its busiest year was 1963, with 5,129 girls. It first appears in the records in 1882.

2025 had fewer girls named Penny than any year since 2019.

Half of all the girls named Penny in the US since 1880 were born between 1955 and 1968, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 383 girls in the US were given Penny or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #723, up from #740 for this spelling alone.

1882Busiest: 5,129 in 19632025
Penny in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025368#740
2024377#747
2023434#676
2022402#726
2021409#704
2020383#725
2019362#768
2018363#751
2017361#768
2016419#692
2015372#757
2014345#808
2013251#996
2012233#1,071
2011165#1,382
2010153#1,474
2009105#1,979
200890#2,206
200780#2,368
200660#2,887
200551#3,077
200453#2,961
200344#3,287
200249#2,972
200138#3,482
200053#2,736
199954#2,607
199858#2,395
199763#2,171
199662#2,174
199564#2,096
199480#1,793
199388#1,690
199291#1,657
1991102#1,511
1990121#1,326
1989158#1,064
1988151#1,052
1987171#947
1986210#800
1985270#670
1984280#632
1983295#602
1982379#522
1981482#445
1980555#407
1979697#339
1978750#311
1977856#279
1976870#268
19751,027#235
19741,174#219
19731,471#184
19721,587#180
19712,001#158
19702,145#157
19692,360#142
19682,576#124
19672,811#119
19663,109#112
19653,898#97
19644,396#96
19635,129#86
19625,001#92
19614,638#101
19604,302#113
19593,756#122
19583,556#124
19573,044#138
19562,348#158
19552,213#161
19542,134#163
19532,153#157
19522,091#157
19512,077#153
19501,751#161
19491,846#158
19481,861#153
19472,101#142
19461,645#163
19451,131#183
19441,204#180
19431,203#184
1942992#205
1941637#254
1940493#282
1939380#317
1938234#439
1937165#510
1936100#660
193574#785
193451#966
193340#1,102
193224#1,568
193130#1,336
193030#1,403
192938#1,212
192851#1,051
192747#1,108
192652#1,032
192569#890
192452#1,086
192368#889
192230#1,508
192134#1,374
192026#1,626
191932#1,369
191821#1,805
191715#2,203
191620#1,739
191513#2,254
191413#1,896
191311#1,883
19129#1,980
19115#2,463
19107#1,935
19095#2,208
19087#1,676
19076#1,820
19065#1,951
19058#1,419
19047#1,485
19030–
19020–
19017#1,339
19005#1,931
18995#1,595
18987#1,379
18975#1,554
18960–
18950–
18940–
18930–
18926#1,278
18910–
18906#1,209
18890–
18886#1,136
18870–
18860–
18850–
18840–
18830–
18825#908

Names like Penny

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

Betsy, Daphne, Marnie, Robyn, Nancy, Polly, Melody, Heidi, Penelope, Bonnie, Iris, Edie

Other spellings of Penny

Pennie

Names related to Penny

Peony, Penina

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Phoebe, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe, Maisie

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, “Penny: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/penny, updated 20 October 2026.