Gender: Girl
Meaning: Weaver; bobbin worker
Origin: Greek — from pene (thread, bobbin) + ops (face, eye); possibly also connected to the Greek for duck
Popularity: Ranked #28 in 2024 with 5,741 babies born.
History: Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey — for twenty years she waited for her husband's return, cleverly outwitting her suitors by weaving a shroud by day and unraveling it by night. Her name became synonymous with loyalty, intelligence, and quiet strength. The name was rarely used in modern America until the 2000s, when it began a steady climb, entering the top 25 by 2013. Penélope Cruz gave it a glamorous international dimension. Penny is its irresistibly sweet nickname, giving it remarkable range from playful to elegant.
Famous people named Penelope: Penélope Cruz (actress), Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds), Penelope (Greek mythology)
Name length: 8 letters
How common is Penelope? About 1 in 579 babies born in 2024 were named Penelope, or roughly 15.7 per day in the United States.
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