Female name
Penelope
14,283 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2022. Expression number: 7.
Origin
From Ancient Greek Πηνελόπη (Pēnelópē), possibly from πηνέλοψ (pēnélops, “duck”).From Wiktionary, entry “Penelope”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Penelope?
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2022: 1,206 births. 14,283 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 32nd among girls' names in 2022. It is still given: 5,863 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 2019: 6,734 births. 109,533 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 21st among girls' names in 2022. It really came into use around 1915. It is still given: 30,874 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2019: 46 births. 473 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. It really came into use around 2014. It is still given: 156 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 5,345 | 1900–2025 | — |
| Quebec | 2,001 | 1980–2025 | 97th in 1998 |
| Switzerland | 538* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Argentina | 307 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Berlin | 189 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Austria | 170 | 1984–2025 | — |
| Belgium | 40 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
7
reflection, inner life, seeking
7 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 3 + 6 + 7 + 5 = 43 → 7
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
5 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 21 → 3
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
22
the large-scale builder (master number)
7 + 5 + 3 + 7 = 22
- Digits missing from the name
- 1, 2, 4, 8, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 5 · freedom, change, movement
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.