Penelope
#22 for girls in 2025, 6,225 births · Last seen for boys in 2024 at #10,938
Given to girls >99.9% of the time
- Peak · girls
- 2022 · 6,430 births
- Debut · girls
- 5 births
- In top 100 · girls
- 13 yrsof 146 years
- Total births · girls
- 109,480since 1880
Penelope over time
Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | #22 | 6,225 | — | |
| 2024 | #28 | 5,760 | #10,938 | 6 |
| 2023 | #23 | 6,068 | — | |
| 2022 | #21 | 6,430 | #12,330 | 5 |
| 2021 | #23 | 6,370 | #7,587 | 10 |
| 2020 | #26 | 6,152 | #12,022 | 5 |
| 2019 | #22 | 6,734 | — | |
| 2018 | #26 | 6,524 | #9,670 | 7 |
| 2017 | #24 | 6,668 | #10,775 | 6 |
| 2016 | #27 | 6,400 | #8,146 | 9 |
| 2015 | #34 | 5,953 | #12,086 | 5 |
| 2014 | #43 | 5,089 | — | |
| 2013 | #56 | 4,292 | — | |
| 2012 | #125 | 2,536 | — | |
| 2011 | #168 | 1,871 | — | |
| 2010 | #200 | 1,547 | — | |
| 2009 | #253 | 1,297 | — | |
| 2008 | #359 | 919 | — | |
| 2007 | #409 | 796 | — | |
| 2006 | #482 | 649 | — | |
| 2005 | #558 | 513 | — | |
| 2004 | #646 | 424 | — | |
| 2003 | #712 | 367 | — | |
| 2002 | #716 | 346 | — | |
| 2001 | #940 | 235 | — | |
| 2000 | #1,412 | 131 | — | |
| 1999 | #1,636 | 102 | — | |
| 1998 | #1,458 | 117 | — | |
| 1997 | #1,595 | 100 | — | |
| 1996 | #1,826 | 80 | — | |
| 1995 | #1,598 | 94 | — | |
| 1994 | #2,102 | 65 | — | |
| 1993 | #2,351 | 54 | — | |
| 1992 | #2,128 | 63 | — | |
| 1991 | #2,163 | 61 | — | |
| 1990 | #2,174 | 59 | — | |
| 1989 | #2,658 | 42 | — | |
| 1988 | #2,330 | 47 | — | |
| 1987 | #1,838 | 63 | — | |
| 1986 | #2,003 | 54 | — | |
| 1985 | #1,975 | 55 | — | |
| 1984 | #1,837 | 58 | — | |
| 1983 | #1,644 | 67 | — | |
| 1982 | #1,769 | 62 | — | |
| 1981 | #1,528 | 78 | — | |
| 1980 | #1,460 | 83 | — | |
| 1979 | #1,270 | 100 | — | |
| 1978 | #1,169 | 108 | — | |
| 1977 | #1,088 | 119 | — | |
| 1976 | #1,032 | 120 | — | |
| 1975 | #842 | 159 | — | |
| 1974 | #759 | 184 | — | |
| 1973 | #675 | 221 | — | |
| 1972 | #676 | 219 | — | |
| 1971 | #733 | 205 | — | |
| 1970 | #571 | 315 | — | |
| 1969 | #531 | 345 | — | |
| 1968 | #569 | 282 | — | |
| 1967 | #596 | 255 | — | |
| 1966 | #641 | 223 | — | |
| 1965 | #584 | 266 | — | |
| 1964 | #614 | 266 | — | |
| 1963 | #540 | 322 | — | |
| 1962 | #584 | 286 | — | |
| 1961 | #567 | 310 | — | |
| 1960 | #547 | 316 | — | |
| 1959 | #495 | 388 | — | |
| 1958 | #484 | 387 | — | |
| 1957 | #460 | 422 | — | |
| 1956 | #479 | 380 | — | |
| 1955 | #435 | 419 | — | |
| 1954 | #395 | 482 | — | |
| 1953 | #366 | 537 | — | |
| 1952 | #360 | 529 | — | |
| 1951 | #332 | 568 | — | |
| 1950 | #305 | 646 | — | |
| 1949 | #297 | 679 | — | |
| 1948 | #275 | 782 | — | |
| 1947 | #271 | 796 | — | |
| 1946 | #289 | 641 | — | |
| 1945 | #304 | 509 | — | |
| 1944 | #265 | 678 | — | |
| 1943 | #275 | 643 | — | |
| 1942 | #267 | 670 | — | |
| 1941 | #273 | 546 | — | |
| 1940 | #300 | 439 | — | |
| 1939 | #325 | 368 | — | |
| 1938 | #486 | 188 | — | |
| 1937 | #501 | 173 | — | |
| 1936 | #652 | 102 | — | |
| 1935 | #823 | 69 | — | |
| 1934 | #1,062 | 43 | — | |
| 1933 | #1,102 | 40 | — | |
| 1932 | #1,056 | 45 | — | |
| 1931 | #1,175 | 37 | — | |
| 1930 | #1,117 | 44 | — | |
| 1929 | #1,119 | 43 | — | |
| 1928 | #1,069 | 49 | — | |
| 1927 | #1,010 | 57 | — | |
| 1926 | #931 | 64 | — | |
| 1925 | #913 | 66 | — | |
| 1924 | #941 | 65 | — | |
| 1923 | #976 | 58 | — | |
| 1922 | #949 | 61 | — | |
| 1921 | #1,136 | 45 | — | |
| 1920 | #1,005 | 54 | — | |
| 1919 | #1,026 | 49 | — | |
| 1918 | #1,102 | 44 | — | |
| 1917 | #1,281 | 32 | — | |
| 1916 | #1,167 | 37 | — | |
| 1915 | #1,258 | 31 | — | |
| 1914 | #1,665 | 16 | — | |
| 1913 | #1,670 | 13 | — | |
| 1912 | #1,719 | 11 | — | |
| 1911 | #1,956 | 7 | — | |
| 1910 | #1,773 | 8 | — | |
| 1909 | #1,607 | 8 | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | ||
| 1907 | #2,061 | 5 | — | |
| 1906 | #1,951 | 5 | — | |
| 1905 | — | — | ||
| 1904 | — | — | ||
| 1903 | — | — | ||
| 1902 | #1,793 | 5 | — | |
| 1901 | — | — | ||
| 1900 | #1,723 | 6 | — | |
| 1899 | — | — | ||
| 1898 | #1,700 | 5 | — | |
| 1897 | — | — | ||
| 1896 | #1,416 | 6 | — | |
| 1895 | #1,592 | 5 | — | |
| 1894 | — | — | ||
| 1893 | #1,277 | 6 | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | ||
| 1891 | #943 | 9 | — | |
| 1890 | #1,338 | 5 | — | |
| 1889 | #950 | 8 | — | |
| 1888 | #959 | 8 | — | |
| 1887 | — | — | ||
| 1886 | #897 | 7 | — | |
| 1885 | — | — | ||
| 1884 | — | — | ||
| 1883 | #817 | 6 | — | |
| 1882 | — | — | ||
| 1881 | — | — | ||
| 1880 | #836 | 5 | — | |
In the first year the SSA published name data, Penelope was already there! It came in at #836, and was given to 5 baby girls.
Quietest stretch: 1880–1882, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.
See more about Penelope
- 6 spots since 2024 (#28 → #22)
- 4 spots since 2020 (#26 → #22)
- 12 spots since 2015 (#34 → #22)
- Biggest jump: 472 spots in 2001 (#1,412 → #940)
- Biggest drop: 388 spots in 1890 (#950 → #1,338)
- Debuted 1880
- Peaked 2022 at #21 (6,430 births)
- Not yet halved from its peak
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: 13 yrs · run 2013–2025
- Top 1,000: 77 yrs · run 1935–1975
- Highest: 1 in 249 girls born in 2019 were named Penelope (0.40%)
- Latest: 1 in 258 girls born in 2025 (0.39%)
- Its best rank, #21 in 2022, was only 1 in 255 (0.39%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
- 43.5% of all girls named Penelope (47,614) were born in this decade
- Comeback: #265 (1944) → #2,658 (1989) → #21 (2022)
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 34 | #817 (1883) | #892 |
| 1890s | 36 | #943 (1891) | #1,378 |
| 1900s | 29 | #1,607 (1909) | #1,827 |
| 1910s | 248 | #1,026 (1919) | #1,462 |
| 1920s | 562 | #913 (1925) | #1,005 |
| 1930s | 1,109 | #325 (1939) | #830 |
| 1940s | 6,383 | #265 (1944) | #282 |
| 1950s | 4,758 | #305 (1950) | #411 |
| 1960s | 2,871 | #531 (1969) | #577 |
| 1970s | 1,750 | #571 (1970) | #882 |
| 1980s | 609 | #1,460 (1980) | #1,904 |
| 1990s | 795 | #1,458 (1998) | #1,903 |
| 2000s | 5,677 | #253 (2009) | #649 |
| 2010s | 47,614 | #22 (2019) | #73 |
| 2020s | 37,005 | #21 (2022) | #24 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Penelope in 2015
Top girls' names in 2015
Top boys' names in 2015
More about 2015
girls
1,785,098 girls got a published name in 2015; 1 in 300 of them was named Penelope, which outranked 99.8% of the 19,130 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.4% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).
Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.
boys
1,916,743 boys got a published name in 2015; 1 in 383,349 of them was named Penelope, which outranked 14.0% of the 14,059 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.3% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).
Tied with 1,973 names at #12,086; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.
Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.