Penelope

Greek

"weaver"

Penelope Origin and Meaning

The name Penelope is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "weaver".

Penelope is an unlikely 21st century baby name success story. Off the Top 1000 for 25 years, Penelope jumped back on in 2001 and has been heading uphill ever since, propelled by the trend for mythological names, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, and some high-profile celebrity babies.

In Greek mythology, Penelope was the wife of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. It has two possible origin stories—Penelope was either derived from the Greek pēnē, meaning "thread of a bobbin", or from penelops, a type of duck. Mythological Penelope was cared for by a duck as an infant, and later was known for fending off would-be suitors by pretending to weave a garment.

Penelope's status as a Kardashian baby name -- Kourtney's daughter Penelope was born in 2012 -- brought the ancient name to widespread attention. The most popular girls' name starting with P, Penelope was also picked for their girls by Tina Fey, by Anna Chlumsky, and by Natalie and Taylor Hanson, of the group Hanson.

Penelope has several British novelists as namesakes—Penelopes Fitzgerald, Mortimer, Gilliatt, and Lively. And yes, she's also a Harry Potter character: Penelope "Penny" is a student at Hogwarts.

A perennial Nameberry favorite, Penelope can be shortened to the traditional Penny or -- Berry style -- the fresher Nell or Poppy.

Penelope Rank in US Top 1000

# 23 in the US

Penelope Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 44 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Penelope

• 23 US 2023
• 44 Nameberry 2025
• 63 Canada 2023
• 54 Future 2035
• 33 England 2023
• 87 Scotland 2023
• 39 Australia 2023
• 47 New Zealand 2024
• 428 Germany 2016
• 86 Dogs 2022
• 48 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Penelope

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

• Mickee
• Alice
• Clara
• Szofia
• Juliet
• Debborah
• Cora
• Matilda
• Oryna
• Josephine
• Patrica
• Pasifica
• Ruby
• Eliza
• Carolenia
• Caroll
• Phoebe
• Violet
• Clota
• Eleanor

Famous People Named Penelope

• Penelope Cruz (Sánchez) Spanish actress
• Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller) American actress
• Penelope Spheeris American director and producer
• Penelope Fitzgerald English novelist
• Penelope Margaret Lively Egyptian,British novelist
• Penelope Alice Wilton English actress
• Penelope Anne Constance Keith English actress
• Penelope Houston American singer,songwriter
• Penelope "Penny" Heyns South African Olympic swimmer
• Penelope Jane Leach English child psychologist
• Penelope Mitchell Australian actress
• Penelope "Penny" Oleksiak Canadian swimmer
• Penelope Savalas daughter of actor Telly Savalas
• Penelope Carolyn "Penny" Jacob late daughter of novelist Piers Anthony
• Penelope Anne "Penny" Hanson (b. 2005) daughter of musician Taylor Hanson
• Penelope Jane Charlotte Nannini (b. 2010) daughter of singer Gianna Nannini
• Penelope Athena Richmond (b. 2011) daughter of actress Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond
• Penelope Mogol (b. 2012) daughter of fitness trainer Tracy Anderson and Matt Mogol
• Penelope Scotland Disick (b. 2012) daughter of TV personalities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick
• Penelope Salomon daughter of Canadian actress Jessalyn Gilsig
• Penelope Joan So (b. 2013) daughter of actress Anna Chlumsky and Shaun So
• Penelope Charlevoix Gnoffo (b. 2015) daughter of TV personalities Terra Jole and Joe Gnoffo ("Little Women: LA")
• Penelope Froch (b. 2015) daughter of boxer Carl Froch
• Penelope "Penny" Parker YouTuber with the best laugh, voice actress on "Real,Time Fandub"

The name Penelope in Pop Culture

• Penelope known in Greek Mythology as the wife of Odysseus.
• Penelope Lou "Penny" Pingleton a character in the film/musical "Hairspray"
• Penelope Clearwater a character in the "Harry Potter" novels by J. K. Rowling.
• Penelope Blossom character in Archie Comics and TV's "Riverdale"
• Penelope "Penny" Widmore Hume character on Lost
• Penelope "Penny" Halliwell character on the TV show 'Charmed'
• Penelope Garcia a character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
• Penelope Wilhern protagonist of 2006 movie "Penelope"
• Penelope Guerrero character in "The Purge"
• Penelope "Penny" Proud a character on Disney TV Show "The Proud Family"
• Penelope Alvarez character from Netflix's original series "One Day at a Time"
• Penelope "Peppi" Torres character from Svetlana Chmakova's series "Awkward"
• Penelope Trotwood character in "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles"
• Penelope Twite character in Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles books
• Penelope Pussycat female cat, love interest of Garfield the cat in cartoon show "Garfield and Friends"
• Penelope Taint character on the "Amanda Show"
• Penelope Priss character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"

International Variations of the name Penelope

• Peniel Hebrew
• Lopa Polish
• Pela Polish
• Pipitsa Greek
• Penelopa Spanish
• Pelcia Polish
• Popi Greek
• Pennelope French
• Peni Spanish
• Pépélope French
• Pinelopi Greek