Penelope

Did you know?

A few things about Penelope you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Penelope

Penelope Ann Miller

American actress

Choose Penelope and your child shares a first name with Penelope Ann Miller, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Penelope, like who?” Penelope Ann Miller's Wikipedia article is available in 40 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Penelope Ann Miller on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: MingleMediaTVNetwork, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 258 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Penelope, 6,225 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, there'd probably be one other Penelope.
• 📜HistoryPenelope has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Penelopes, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2022, when it reached #21.
• 📈Then vs nowPenelope is 54× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 13,870 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 258.
• 📍Where it's lovedPenelope is most popular in Alaska, where it ranks #5, followed by Oregon (#9) and Connecticut (#12). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Penelope means “possibly weaver”.
• 🌍OriginPenelope is the #4 most popular Greek girl name in the US. That's out of 1,009 Greek girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Penelope

Penelope is a girl name of Greek origin meaning “possibly weaver”. It has 8 letters and 3 syllables, starting with P and ending in “-ope”. US birth records list Penelope for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 132 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked #21 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #22, with 6,225 babies.

Origin:Greek names