Pepper

English from Latin, Sanskrit, "the pepper plant; berry"

"the pepper plant; berry"

Pepper Origin and Meaning

The name Pepper is a girl's name of English origin meaning "the pepper plant; berry".

With its bubbly sounds and stylish feel, Pepper joins a small but distinctive group of names inspired by the spice rack: Saffron, Juniper, Cassia, Sage, Ginger, and Rosemary. Enough like Pippa, Piper and Penelope that it feels usable, Pepper has appeared every year in the US stats since the 60s.

As a word, pepper can refer to the seasoning made from the dried seeds of a black pepper plant or to the many varieties of the vegetable-that-is-technically-a-fruit. Though unrelated, they bear the same name, deriving from the Indian name for the black peppercorn plant piper nigrum. When peppers (of the fruity kind) were first brought into Europe by Christopher Columbus, they were grouped together under the term 'pepper' because that's what all spices with a hot and strong taste were called.

Pepper Potts is a character from the Marvel Universe, while Pepper Ann Pearson is the title character of a 90s Disney series. Also used in novel Good Omens, in the title of The Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and for the soda drink, Dr. Pepper, Pepper has only ever featured once in the US Top 1000.

Possibly inspired by the 1975 film The Great Waldo Pepper, more than 130 girls were given the name that same year — five times as many as the year before. It's popularity was short lived however, and it wasn't until the 2008 release of the first Iron Man movie that the name began to gain traction. Given to 128 girls in a recent year, it is familiar while not overly popular.

There is a chance that Pepper may rise up the charts, thanks to Juniper's popularity, though some parents may be held back by the sound alike name of Peppa Pig. If you do enjoy the name but are put off by the cartoon character, you could consider Pepper as a nickname for Penelope, Persephone, or Phillipa. 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 Rank in US Top 1000

# 956 in the US

Pepper Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 829 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Pepper

• 829 Nameberry 2025
• 625 Unique 2023
• 829 Future 2028
• 29 Dogs 2023
• 16 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Pepper

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Pepper.

• Honey
• Sunday
• Tuesday
• Prim
• Maple
• Holiday
• Peaches
• Bloom
• January
• Pixie
• Cricket
• Prairie
• Ginger
• Tulip
• Coral
• Basil
• Buttercup
• Apple
• Petal
• Tigerlily

Famous People Named Pepper

• Pepper ring name of Cynthia Peretti, American pro wrestler
• Pepper Hall (b. 2012) daughter of actress Moon Bloodgood and director Grady Hall
• Dottie Pepper American golfer
• Lavone A. "Pepper" Paire Davis American baseball player
• Wendy Pepper (Anne Eustis Pepper Stewart) American fashion designer
• Pepper Binkley American actress
• Pepper Schwartz American sociologist and sexologist
• Pepper MaShay stage name of American singer Jean McClain
• Pepper Winters award,winning novelist
• Pepper Somerset (Traci Danielle) female vocalist in the American Industrial band My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
• Pepper Joseph daughter of JOCObrand owner Zack Joseph, niece of singer Tyler Joseph of twenty one pilots

The name Pepper in Pop Culture

• Dr. Pepper brand of soda
• Pepper Anderson main character on TV's "Police Woman"
• Virginia "Pepper" Potts character in Marvel comics and films
• Pepper Ann Pearson main character on animated TV series "Pepper Ann"
• Heidi "Pepper" Steiger from Australian TV soap "Neighbours"
• Pepper Friberg archangel in the Hush Hush series
• Pepper Brooks minor character in the movie "Dodgeball"
• Peppa Pig British animated TV series and its main character
• Pepper orphan girl in the musical "Annie"
• Pepper puppy in the "101 Dalmatians" films
• Pepper lovely and sweet character from "American Horror Story: Asylum" and "American Horror Story: Freakshow"
• Pepper Clark character in animated TV series "Littlest Pet Shop"
• Pepper Small character in 2011 film "Inside Out"
• "Pepper Dennis " TV show and its main character
• Pepper main character in webcomic "Pepper&Carrot"
• Mrs. Pepper pepper character from "Blue's Clues"
• Pepper character in "Inanimate Insanity"

International Variations of the name Pepper

• Piper Romanian
• Vesa Turkish
• Pilipili Swahili
• Koshoo Japanese
• Peppar Swedish