Name Spellings, Initials and Sounds
Cool Baby Names That Start with P
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Penn
English
"enclosure"
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…
Pascal
French; English
"of the Passover; Easter"
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…
Pemma
Tibetan
"lotus flower"
Variation of Pema.
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…
Pella
Scandinavian, diminutive of Petronella, or Hebrew
"stone or marvel of God"
This rare name crosses cultures. With the popularity of Ella and Bella, perhaps we'll hear more of Pella one day soon?
Pendleton
English
"overhanging settlement"
Pembroke's brother.
Parson
English occupational name
"clergyman"
The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool.…
Padgett
Variation of Page, French
"page, attendant"
Padgett is an occupational surname name related to page, meaning not a page in a book but a page or attendant in the Senate or a royal court. It makes a cute uncommon alternative to all those more…
Peace
Word name
"peace"
Peace may be an admirable sentiment to convey in a child's name, but the translated and thus more subtle versions, like Pax or Placido, might work better as first names.
Penzance
Cornish
"holy headland"
Penzance is a port town at the very tip of Cornwall. With its associations with operetta and pirates, Penzance packs quite a bit of zip for a name.
Persia
Country name
"land of the Parsa"
The name Persia derives from Avestan Parsa , the name of the Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into southern Iran in about 1000 BCE. Persis or Persea, the feminine form of Perseus, feel more…
Pax
Latin
"peaceful"
Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace 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.…
Parrish
English surname
"from Paris"
Parrish is unrelated — but often said to be related — to the English word "parish". Instead, the surname arose as a designator for one who lived in Paris.
Perry
English
"pear tree"
Perry fits right in with rising boyish nicknames for girls and cool picks like Frankie and Scottie. This relaxed name sounds novel compared to such former favorites as Kerry and Sherry. Perry is the…
Patterson
English
"son of Peter"
Patterson is an upscale name worth considering if you're looking to continue a line of Peters, but soundalike Paterson is a downscale city in New Jersey.
Peridot
Arabic
"a green gemstone"
Peridot is the gem of the month of August, a vibrant green mineral, said to be good for helping people put the past behind them, and an interesting, undiscovered jewel name. It was regarded in…
Peregrine
Latin
"traveler, pilgrim"
Peregrine is considered to be an elegantly aristocratic name in England, but has never made it to the U.S., where it has been seen as extravagantly eccentric. In the new naming climate, though, it's…
Patsy
English, diminutive of Patricia
"noble, patrician"
This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country…
Park
Word name
A grassy place with trees is a nice image to attach to a name.
Perdita
Latin
"lost"
A Shakespearean invention for an abandoned baby in The Winter's Tale , Perdita's sense of loss has always been off-putting to parents. But her image was somewhat resuscitated by its association with…