Penelope
Greek, borne in the Odyssey by the wife who waits for Odysseus and unpicks her weaving each night. The name may contain pene, thread or weft.
Penelope in 2025
Penelope was given to 6,225 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 67th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 533 babies born.
The history of Penelope
Penelope reached its highest point in 2019, when 6,734 babies were given the name, ranking 71st that year. Its best-ever ranking was 67th, in 2025.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 109,533 babies have been named Penelope. Half of them were born before 2017, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Alpha.
Penelope by decade
| Decade | Babies named Penelope | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 34 | 1,671 |
| 1890s | 36 | 1,599 |
| 1900s | 29 | 2,657 |
| 1910s | 248 | 1,936 |
| 1920s | 562 | 1,686 |
| 1930s | 1,109 | 613 |
| 1940s | 6,383 | 475 |
| 1950s | 4,758 | 558 |
| 1960s | 2,871 | 944 |
| 1970s | 1,750 | 1,010 |
| 1980s | 609 | 2,381 |
| 1990s | 795 | 2,530 |
| 2000s | 5,677 | 526 |
| 2010s | 47,641 | 71 |
| 2020s | 37,031 | 67 |
Where Penelope is heading
Penelope has held roughly steady over the past decade, from 5,958 babies in 2015 to 6,225 in 2025.
Names like Penelope
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Penelope.