Penelope

Greek

"weaver"

Penelope Origin and Meaning

The name Penelope is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "weaver".

Penelope is an unlikely 21st century baby name success story. Off the Top 1000 for 25 years, Penelope jumped back on in 2001 and has been heading uphill ever since, propelled by the trend for mythological names, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, and some high-profile celebrity babies.

In Greek mythology, Penelope was the wife of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. It has two possible origin stories—Penelope was either derived from the Greek pēnē, meaning "thread of a bobbin", or from penelops, a type of duck. Mythological Penelope was cared for by a duck as an infant, and later was known for fending off would-be suitors by pretending to weave a garment.

Penelope's status as a Kardashian baby name -- Kourtney's daughter Penelope was born in 2012 -- brought the ancient name to widespread attention. The most popular girls' name starting with P, Penelope was also picked for their girls by Tina Fey, by Anna Chlumsky, and by Natalie and Taylor Hanson, of the group Hanson.

Penelope has several British novelists as namesakes—Penelopes Fitzgerald, Mortimer, Gilliatt, and Lively. And yes, she's also a Harry Potter character: Penelope "Penny" is a student at Hogwarts.

A perennial Nameberry favorite, Penelope can be shortened to the traditional Penny or -- Berry style -- the fresher Nell or Poppy.

Penelope Popularity

• 21 US 2022
• 43 Nameberry 2024
• 12 Future 2028
• 38 England 2021
• 85 Scotland 2022
• 43 Australia 2022
• 45 New Zealand 2023
• 428 Germany 2016
• 86 Dogs 2022
• 39 Cats 2022
• 53 Canada 2022