Pearl
About Pearl
While Pearl is predominantly used as a feminine name, it ranked in the US Top 1000 for boys from the 1880s until the 1930s, reaching the Top 200 on several occasions. Pearl fell out of style in general back in the 80s, but has been making a resurgence for girls in recent years.
Derived from the Latin perla, the gemstone is associated with wealth, wisdom, purity, and the the month of June.
Yet to catch on again as a boy name, this might change if parents take inspiration from actor Nico Tortorella and influencer Bethany C. Meyers who chose Pearl as a middle name for their son in 2024. They picked the vintage gem because it worked as a nod to Meyers' dad (whose middle was Earl) and because the stone was meaningful to the couple during their pregnancy journey.
Pronounced PURL.
As of October 2026, Pearl ranked #7025 in US births in 1983 SSA, peaked at #186 in 1886.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |