Unique Girl Names that Start With P

Pixie

Swedish or Cornish

"fairy"

Pixie is a cute -- quite possibly too cute -- name that suddenly feels possible thanks to the craze for names that contain the letter x. Though its origin may be uncertain, a pixie is internationally…

Plum

Fruit name

British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The…

Poe

English

"peacock"

Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe. As a first name, it's radically underused, given last year in the US to only five…

Palma

Latin place-name, Spanish, Italian, Croatian

"palm"

Palma is an appealing Latin name that's both geographical and botanical, referring to the sunny and culturally rich capital of Majorca and to the foliage of a palm tree. As the word for "palm" in…

Parvati

Sanskrit

"the daughter of the mountain"

This Hindu goddess name is very popular in India. The goddess of love, fertility and devotion, representing female force, Parvati is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesh. There is a Harry…

Perrin

Variation of Perry or Peter, English or Greek

"dweller near the pear tree or rock, stone"

Perrin has been in long use as a surname, derived from Peter, and is now used quietly as a first name. It was given to 26 boys and six girls in the US in 2023, a decrease over the year before. It has…

Persis

Greek

"Persian woman"

Parents seeking a distinctive New Testament name might consider this one. Adopted by some Puritans in the seventeenth century, Persis was used in the William Dean Howells novel The Rise of Silas…

Pritha

Hindi from Sanskrit "palm of the hand"

"palm of the hand"

Pualena

Hawaiian

"flower, blossom; yellow plumeria flower"

A melodic sounding Hawaiian name, associated with a song recently recorded by Hawaiian musician Josh Tatofi, and with yellow plumeria flowers. It was given to 13 girls in the US in a recent year.

Photine

Ancient Greek

"light up"

Deriving from the Greek word phos meaning "light", Photine is a rare choice with a Biblical link. The name of the Samaritan woman in "Jesus and the Woman at the Well" (John 4), Photine is associated…

Pauley

English surname, variation of Paul, Latin

"small"

Pauley has several possible derivations, but the most likely is an elaboration of the ancient name Paul. Actress Pauley Perrette brought this name into the female lexicon. It has the same style as…

Poerava

Tahitian

"black pearl"

Tahiti is famous for its beautiful pearls, which are cultivated and collected from the black lip oyster. While you might think of pearls being white, Tahitian pearls are known as 'black pearls' and…

Phrynia

Variant of Phryne, Literature, Ancient Greek

"toad"

Used by Shakespeare in his play Timon of Athens , Phrynia is a Shakespearean that hasn't caught on as Ophelia, Jessica, or Imogen have — possibly because of its unusual sounds, its toady meaning, and…

Pomelo

Word name

"citrus fruit"

Clementine, Peaches, Cherry, and Pepper (and more occasionally, Apple) are all in use for girls, while the name of the largest citrus fruit, Pomelo, might be a more unisex option if you want…

Palm

Word name, Latin

"of the palm; pilgrim"

Palmer is a Top 300 choice in the US for girls and has more recently been on the rise for boys, but what about the shorter form, Palm? A spiritual name, a word name, and a nature name, it comes from…

Ptolemaida

Spanish form of Ptolemais, Greek

"aggressive, warlike"

Ptolemaida is a distinctive feminine form of Ptolemy, with charming nickname options such as Tolly, Maia, and Aida. It is also the name of a town in Western Macedonia, Greece.

Pony

Word name

"small horse"

There were fewer than five babies of either sex named Pony in the US last year, but we do know there were two babies named Pony born to celebrities, both of them male. But there's nothing…

Pryde

Word name

"pride, being proud, self-esteem"

Pryde, a creative respelling of the English word Pride, may be viewed in two ways. On one hand, it has the positive associations of being proud of yourself and of celebrating your own achievements,…

Percilia

Portuguese, Latin, Greek

"perch, dark-spotted"

Also appearing as Percília, this distinctive choice appeared in the Brazilian charts in the 1930s and 1940s. While it may look like a relative of Percival or Priscilla, it does ultimately come from…

Pepita

Spanish, diminutive feminine variation of JosÉ

Personification of pep.