Peter, Paul, and…uh…Patty are three of the names that made P such a ubiquitous first initial at the middle of the last century. It's been keeping a low profile for a while now, but there are a lot of <a href="https://nameberry.com/lists/category/cool-names">cool baby names</a> that start with P. The most popular P name for girls is Penelope, while Parker holds the title for boys.
 
Along with Penelope and Parker, other cool baby names that start with P in the US Top 1000 include Palmer, Paloma, Paxton, Pearl, Poppy, Pierce, Phoenix, and Preston. Vintage P names due for revival include Percy, Phineas, Polly, and Prue.
 
The initial P lends itself to many interesting names, most of them quite uncommon. Here, our picks for the coolest baby names beginning with P.

Cool Baby Names That Start With P

An alternative to the no-longer-fresh Molly, the initial 'P' gives Polly a peppier sound, combining the cozy virtues of an old-timey name with the bounce of a barmaid. 
 Associated with Tom Sawyer's aunt, 'Polly, put the kettle on,' parrots, Polly Peachum, Nirvana and Kinks songs, and the movie Along Came Polly, as well as characters in Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia and now on the Netflix show Orange is the New Black, Polly never achieved the comeback that her cousin did, perhaps because she sounds too Pollyanna-ish. But although she has been off the Social Security list for decades, Polly is Number 457 on Nameberry.
 But we'd love to see some new baby Pollys.

Polly

Portia is a perfect role-model name, relating to Shakespeare's brilliant and spirited lawyer in The Merchant of Venice, and is now also a Hunger Games name . 
 Another Shakespearean Portia was the wife of Brutus in Julius Caesar, based on a historical character. In the 1940's, when the name was most used, there was a popular radio soap called Portia Faces Life, the heroine being--what else?--a brilliant and spirited lawyer.
 Portia is a recommended choice, even though some people might think you named your child for the car. Just don't spell it Porsche, which may sound the same but has a totally different and -- despite the posh brand -- much more downscale image.
 Namesake Portia de Rossi actually started life as Amanda/Mandy.

Portia

Paxton stands out from a lot of other two-syllable surname names for two reasons: the dynamic letter X in the middle, and its admirable peace association, providing the great nickname Pax.
 One well known bearer is the British actor Paxton Whitehead.

Paxton

Priya originated in India as a name derived from the Sanskrit word for “beloved.” In India, where names are often given based on one’s birthday and horoscope, Priya is traditionally given to girls born in August. Priya is used in Hindu mythology as the name of a daughter of King Daksha—known for fathering 146 daughters.
 
Priya is a very popular given name in India, and can also be found in countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Priya remains uncommon in the US and denotes someone with an individual brand of beauty.

Priya

For a name related to a Scottish town, a richly patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has been a remarkable success story. She entered the Top 1000 in 2006, and broke into the Top 50 for the first time in 2015, and is now one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls_names/P">girl names that start with P</a>.
 Athlete Jennie Finch named her daughter Paisley Faye, sister to big brothers Ace and Diesel.
 There is a character named Paisley in Secret Language of Girls.
 Trivia tidbit: Actor Gerard Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland.

Paisley

Like Peggy and Patsy, the kind of zesty moniker young Judy Garland would sport in her early let's-put-on-a-show flicks. It fell out of favor (and the Top 1000) for a while, but has recently rebounded by reentering the charts in 2013. Expect it to continue gaining traction as a result of surprise hit Penelope.

Penny

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday. 
 Pascal has a number of notable first and last named namesakes, including the philosopher Blaise Pascal, a character in Beauty and the Beast and--for computer freaks--it is also the name of a scientific database.
 Pascoe is an attractive Cornish variation.

Pascal

This name of a tragic figure in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Minos, sister of Ariadne and wife of Theseus, has a mysterious and intriguing appeal, and would make a dramatic choice.

 Phaedra has been a persistent theme in literature, both ancient and modern. There have been plays by Euripedes, Racine, Unamuno, and O'Neill, novels, poetry, operas and film--as recently as the 2011 Immortals starring Freida Pinto.
 One celebrity pulled a gender switch when she named her son Phaedra Bloom Forever.

Phaedra

Philomena is an earthy Greek name now used in various Latin countries. While it has felt simply clunky for many years, it's starting -- along with such sister names as Wilhelmina and Frederica -- to sound so clunky it's cool.

 Also a saint's name--that of a thirteen-year-old martyr of early Rome--it's commonly seen in Italy and Spain spelled Filomena. Philomena only started appearing in English-speaking countries in the latter half of the nineteenth century, especially in Scotland and Australia.
 In the US, Philomena ranked in the Top 1000 through 1940, peaking at Number 355 in 1915.
 Philomena Guinea is the name of protagonist Esther Greenwood's patron in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. New attention was brought to the name via the Oscar-nominated eponymous film based on the real-life Philomena Lee.

Philomena

Philippa is a prime example of a boy's name adapted for girls that was common as crumpets in Cornwall, but rarely heard stateside, never having appeared in the Top 1000. That was before the advent of royal sister-in-law Philippa Middleton, who goes by the lively nickname Pippa.
 Philippa has been fashionable in England since the fourteenth century when King Edward married Philippa of Hainault. There have been several early Saint Philippas, and it was the name of the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer.
 Novelist Philippa Gregory authored the bestselling historical novel The Other Boelyn Girl.

Philippa

Prudence, like Hope and Faith, is a Puritan virtue name with a quiet charm and sensitivity that is slowly returning to favor, though it hasn't yet registered on the charts.
 The White Album Beatles song Dear Prudence was written for Prudence Farrow, sister of Mia, who was with them in India when studying with the Marahishi Mahesh Yogi, seeking enlightenment.
 One notable historic bearer is Prudence Crandall, a 19th century Quaker schoolteacher who stirred controversy by admitting an African-American student. In pop culture, Prudence Halliwell was one of the three witches on Charmed, sister to Piper and Phoebe.
 Asset: Sweet nickname Pru/Prue.

Prudence

Palmer is one of the many <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/Boy-Names-for-Girls">boy names for girls</a> that's climbing the popularity ladder. It could make a very modern honor name for grandma Pamela.

Palmer

Parents are beginning to scan the whole spice shelf for inspiration, picking up on Saffron, Sage, and Cinnamon -- and opening up a chance for this spiciest possibility of all; used for peppy TV characters. 

Pepper

For those not ready to name their daughters Elvis; and used more often than you might think ever since Tanya Tucker chose it for her little girl.

Presley

This simple, elegant name offers something for many kinds of parents, from writers and history buffs to photographers to Pennsylvania dwellers. Most famous bearers are comedian Penn Jillette and Gossip Girl hottie Penn Badgley, both of whom were given this distinctive name at birth. Long obscure, Penn seems destined for greater usage.
 More familiar as a surname, Penn has had a number of distinguished bearers, including Pennsylvania founder William, director Arthur, photographer Irving, and actor/activist Sean.

Penn

Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is rarely heard here. A possible alternative to Rosy or short form for Josephine. Posey (or Posy or Posie) could also work as a nickname for a range of other names, from Penelope to Sophia. Other P-beginning flower names you may want to consider along with Posey: Poppy, Petal, Primrose. <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls_names/P">Girl names that start with P</a> are definitely cool again.

Posey

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 recognized as a sprite or fairy: tiny, sometimes green, usually pointy-eared.

Pixie

Pax, one of the variations of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/411/Baby-Names-That-Mean-Peace">names meaning peace</a> that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son. Parents attracted to Pax may also want to consider Paz, the unisex Spanish version, or Paxton, a growing-in-popularity surname choice that shares that magical X-factor.

An evocative unisex one-syllable name, Poe is most distinguished by its literary reference. Edgar Allan Poe was an influential American author and poet, credited with inventing the genres of detective and science fiction, which might provide inspiration for parents who are fans. And now its choice as the name of the hero played by Oscar Isaac in the new Star Wars movie is sure to catapult it from literary choice to major favorite.
 The female singer-songwriter professionally known as Poe was born with the more prosaic name Ann.
 The variant spelling Po is identified with Po Bronson, the chronicler of the technological age, and also has the geographical association with the river in northern Italy.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian added this new word name to the lexicon when they chose it for their second son and fourth child. Psalm and Saint certainly make a perfect sibset. A psalm is a hymn or sacred song. The bible contains a Book of Psalms.

Psalm

Cool Baby Names That Start with P

Peter, Paul, and…uh…Patty are three of the names that made P such a ubiquitous first initial at the middle of the last century. It's been keeping a low profile for a while now, but there are a lot of cool baby names that start with P. The most popular P name for girls is Penelope, while Parker holds the title for boys.

Along with Penelope and Parker, other cool baby names that start with P in the US Top 1000 include Palmer, Paloma, Paxton, Pearl, Poppy, Pierce, Phoenix, and Preston. Vintage P names due for revival include Percy, Phineas, Polly, and Prue.

The initial P lends itself to many interesting names, most of them quite uncommon. Here, our picks for the coolest baby names beginning with P.