Entry № 0331 · Greek origin

Penelope Penelope — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ peh-NEL-oh-pee /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Greek
Meaning
"Weaver"
Syllables
4
Rank · US 2025
№ 21
First recorded
Ancient (Greek)

A name that means "weaver".

Penelope comes from the Greek pēnē (πήνη), meaning the threads on a loom — "weaver." In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, who waited twenty years for her husband's return while staving off 108 suitors with a cunning trick: she promised to choose a new husband when she finished weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, and unwove her day's work every night.

Penelope has been used since antiquity as a symbol of faithfulness and patient intelligence. Its modern revival is striking — once considered impossibly old-fashioned, it climbed into the U.S. top 25 in the 2010s, helped along by Kourtney Kardashian's daughter and a broader return of long classical names.

She unwove the shroud every night. The name has carried her patience for three thousand years.

The name in its native script.

Πηνελόπη
Transliteration
Pēnelópē
Pronunciation
/ pəˈnɛl.ə.pi /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Penelope stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 21 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 21 in 2025
Babies named Penelope · last year
6,512 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1880
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · №21 NOW · №21

Penelopes before her.

Real people
Penélope Cruz
Spanish actress. Academy Award winner for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).
born 1974
Penelope Keith
British actress, known for The Good Life and To the Manor Born.
born 1940
In fiction
Penelope
Wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Symbol of loyalty and cunning intelligence.
Ancient Greek epic
Penelope Featherington
Heroine of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series and the Netflix adaptation.
Netflix, 2020–present

Names connected to Penelope.

The number behind Penelope.

3

The Communicator

Penelope reduces to three — the number of expression, creativity, and warmth.

Why families chose this name.

"We love long classical names. Penelope was the most beautiful one we could find."
Helena · Mother of one · New York