How popular is the baby name Penelope in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Penelope.

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Popularity of the baby name Penelope


Posts that mention the name Penelope

Popular baby names on Nantucket, 2023

Flag of Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts island of Nantucket, which sits about 30 miles off the coast Cape Cod, is home to over 14,000 year-round residents (though the population “swells to around 80,000 or more” during July and August).

According to the Nantucket Town Clerk’s office, a total of 158 babies were born on the island in 2023. But we only have access to the names of 108 of these babies. Why?

[B]ecause of a Massachusetts law that separates birth certificates based on the parent’s marital status. If the parents were not married at the time of the birth or the father is not named on the record, the birth certificate is considered a restricted record and is not public.

So, out of the 108 known names, which were the most popular? For girls it was a tie between Leah and Sarah (given to two babies each), and for boys it was a tie between Grayson and Lucas (also given to two babies each).

The 100 other babies were given 100 single-use names:

Archibald, Abigail, Abraham, Alejandro, Alister, Alyssa, Alvaro, Amina, Andrew, Asher, Aurora, Bayard, Beckett, Benjaminas, Brenda, Callan, Carter, Catherine, Cameron, Charlotte, Christiaan, Colin, Cole, Cooper, Curren, Damien, Daniel, Debora, Eden, Edwin, Edward, Emilia, Emma, Enzo, Evelyn, Ezra, Fabian, Fae, Fiona, Gaby, Gabriella, Greydon, Griffyn, Harbor, Henry, Israel, Jacob, Jaden, James, Jantyah, Jefferson, Joshua, Julie, Justina, Kairi, Kiara, Lakelyn, La’Klia, Larkin, Latifa, Leon, Liv, Luna, Lydia, Mabel, Madison, Marianne, Marlow, Matheus, Maverick, Max, Mia, Mila, Milo, Miles, Mukhammadyusuf, Nia, Penelope, Quinn, River, Robin, Roman, Samir, Scarlett, Sergio, Shay, Shepard, Silverio, Skye, Stephanie, Sullivan, Theodore, Therdore, Tiller, Timothy, Wilder, William, Yasna, Yvonne, Zaniyah

Tiller caught my eye — it may have come from the English surname (which originally referred to someone who tilled the soil), but, given the location, I’m hoping it was inspired by the tiller of a boat. Maybe Tiller will become the boaters’ version of Taylor/Tyler? :)

Olivia and Liam — the top names in Boston last year — are nowhere to be found on Nantucket’s list, interestingly.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Massachusetts (public domain)

Popular baby names in the Channel Islands, 2022

Flag of Jersey
Flag of Jersey

The Channel Islands are an archipelago located in the English Channel, close to the coast of France. They are divided into two territories, Jersey and Guernsey, and residents of both regions are considered British citizens (even though the regions themselves are not officially part of the UK).

The territory of Jersey coincides with the archipelago’s most populous island, Jersey, while the territory of Guernsey includes several of the less populous islands: Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Herm.

Jersey

Last year, Jersey welcomed a total of 835 babies — 371 girls and 464 boys. Here are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Willow
  2. Mia
  3. Aria
  4. Sienna
  5. Lily
  6. Daisy
  7. Olivia
  8. Emily
  9. Florence
  10. Valentina

Boy names

  1. Arthur
  2. Noah
  3. Luca
  4. Leo
  5. Lucas
  6. Oliver
  7. Theodore
  8. Frederick
  9. Finn
  10. Albert

A year earlier, the top names in Jersey were Sienna and Arthur.

(In future years, baby names in Jersey may be affected by an amendment enacted in March of 2023 that allows the island’s Superintendent Registrar to refuse to register any name that “might cause mistake, confusion, or embarrassment to the child.”)

Guernsey

Last year, Guernsey welcomed “just over 500 babies.” Here are Guernsey’s top girl names and top boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Ava, 9 baby girls
    • “In three cases it was hyphenated with another name.”
  2. Daisy, 6
  3. Evelyn, 5 (tie)
  4. Isabelle/Isabella, 5 (tie)
  5. Beatrice/Beatrix/Beatrise, 4 (7-way tie)
  6. Eden, 4 (7-way tie)
  7. Emilia, 4 (7-way tie)
  8. Isla, 4 (7-way tie)
  9. Ivy, 4 (7-way tie)
  10. Phoebe, 4 (7-way tie)
  11. Orla, 4 (7-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Freddie, 5 baby boys (tie)
  2. Jack, 5 (tie)
  3. Finley/Finlay, 4 (5-way tie)
  4. Jackson, 4 (5-way tie)
  5. James, 4 (5-way tie)
  6. Oscar, 4 (5-way tie)
  7. Rory, 4 (5-way tie)
  8. Alexander, 3 (12-way tie)
  9. Alfie, 3 (12-way tie)
  10. Arlo, 3 (12-way tie)
  11. Arthur, 3 (12-way tie)
  12. Elijah, 3 (12-way tie)
  13. Ethan, 3 (12-way tie)
  14. Harry, 3 (12-way tie)
  15. Leo, 3 (12-way tie)
  16. Noah, 3 (12-way tie)
  17. Rudy, 3 (12-way tie)
  18. Theo, 3 (12-way tie)
  19. Tommy/Tommie, 3 (12-way tie)

A year earlier, the top names in Guernsey were Olivia and a tie between Luca and Theodore. (In 2022, Olivia was given to 3 girls, Luca to a single boy, and Theodore wasn’t used at all.)

My source also mentioned that…

  • Poppy, Emily, Edie, Luna, Imogen, and Tilly were given to 3 baby girls each, Charlotte was given to 2 baby girls, and Amelia and Penelope were given to 1 baby girl each.
  • Archie and Frederick were given to 2 baby boys each, and Henry and Thomas were given to 1 baby boy each.

Finally, here’s a link to the Channel Islands’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Jersey (public domain)

Top lengths of U.S. baby names in 2022

Which lengths were the most and least popular for U.S. baby names in 2022?

Top length for girl names: 6 letters

For baby girls, the most-used length was 6 letters, followed by 5 and 7.

Top lengths for U.S. baby girl names, 2022

The most popular girl names per length were…

  • 2 letters (given to over 200 baby girls): Jo, An, Bo, Zo
  • 3 letters (over 58,300): Ava, Mia, Zoe, Ivy
  • 4 letters (over 227,100): Emma, Luna, Mila, Aria
  • 5 letters (over 351,100): Sofia, Emily, Chloe, Avery
  • 6 letters (over 464,600): Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Evelyn
  • 7 letters (over 306,400): Eleanor, Abigail, Madison, Lillian
  • 8 letters (over 141,400): Isabella, Scarlett, Penelope, Victoria
  • 9 letters (over 70,700): Charlotte, Elizabeth, Valentina, Josephine
  • 10 letters (over 7,800): Evangeline, Alessandra, Alexandria, Jacqueline
  • 11 letters (over 300): Christianna, Anavictoria, Oliviagrace, Mariaisabel
  • 12 letters (90): Marymargaret
  • 13 letters (over 100): Oluwadarasimi
  • 14 letters (19): Elizabethgrace/Mariadelcarmen (tie)
  • 15 letters (5): Sophiaelizabeth

Top length for boy names: 6 letters

For baby boys, the most-used length was also 6 letters, followed by 5 and 4.

Top lengths for U.S. baby boy names, 2022

The most popular boy names per length were…

  • 2 letters (given to over 1,700 baby boys): Bo, Ty, Aj, Cy
  • 3 letters (over 52,300): Leo, Kai, Eli, Ian
  • 4 letters (over 294,400): Liam, Noah, Levi, Jack
  • 5 letters (over 452,900): James, Henry, Lucas, Mateo
  • 6 letters (over 509,300): Oliver, Elijah, Daniel, Samuel
  • 7 letters (over 261,500): William, Michael, Jackson, Gabriel
  • 8 letters (over 107,300): Benjamin, Theodore, Maverick, Santiago
  • 9 letters (over 41,500): Sebastian, Alexander, Christian, Nathaniel
  • 10 letters (over 3,700): Alessandro, Maximilian, Kristopher, Montgomery
  • 11 letters (over 7,700): Christopher, Maximiliano, Abdulrahman/Constantine/Muhammadali (3-way tie)
  • 12 letters (over 200): Michelangelo
  • 13 letters (over 100): Muhammadyusuf
  • 14 letters (11): Michaelanthony
  • 15 letters (7): Muhammadibrahim

Source: SSA

Popular baby names in Poland, 2022

Flag of Poland
Flag of Poland

The country of Poland is located in Central Europe and shares a border with seven other countries (including Russia, Germany, and Slovakia).

Last year, Poland welcomed approximately 305,000 babies — 290,000 of which were born to Polish parents and 15,000 of which were born to non-Polish parents (many of them Ukrainian refugees).

What were the most popular names among all these babies? Zofia and Antoni.

Here are Poland’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Zofia, 5,714 baby girls
  2. Zuzanna, 5,558
  3. Hanna, 5,261
  4. Laura, 5,095
  5. Maja, 4,979
  6. Julia, 4,936
  7. Oliwia, 4,440
  8. Alicja, 4,261
  9. Pola, 4,087
  10. Lena, 3,811
  11. Maria, 3,732
  12. Emilia, 3,188
  13. Amelia, 3,143
  14. Antonina,3,133
  15. Wiktoria, 3,037
  16. Liliana, 2,860
  17. Iga, 2,847 – a diminutive of either Jadwiga or Ignacja
  18. Michalina, 2,749
  19. Marcelina, 2,720
  20. Helena, 2,680
  21. Klara, 2,523
  22. Aleksandra, 2,370
  23. Gabriela, 2,220
  24. Anna, 1,965
  25. Kornelia, 1,927
  26. Lucja, 1,862
  27. Blanka, 1,853
  28. Nela, 1,840
  29. Nadia, 1,792
  30. Natalia, 1,734
  31. Jagoda, 1,554
  32. Lilianna, 1,472
  33. Milena, 1,467
  34. Anastazja, 1,297
  35. Mia, 1,217
  36. Kaja, 1,213
  37. Nikola, 1,109
  38. Nina, 1,102
  39. Weronika, 1,081
  40. Róza, 1,074
  41. Rozalia, 1,072
  42. Aniela, 1,039
  43. Sara, 998
  44. Barbara, 993
  45. Matylda, 968
  46. Karolina, 887
  47. Martyna, 840
  48. Liwia, 821
  49. Agata, 811
  50. Eliza, 756

Boy Names

  1. Antoni, 6,670 baby boys
  2. Jan, 6,341
  3. Aleksander, 6,201
  4. Nikodem, 6,155
  5. Franciszek, 5,696
  6. Jakub, 5,535
  7. Leon, 5,091
  8. Mikolaj, 4,499
  9. Stanislaw, 4,265
  10. Filip, 4,107
  11. Ignacy, 4,086
  12. Szymon, 4,069
  13. Wojciech, 3,539
  14. Adam, 3,348
  15. Kacper, 3,251
  16. Tymon, 3,164
  17. Marcel, 3,081
  18. Maksymilian, 3,055
  19. Michal, 2,758
  20. Wiktor, 2,709
  21. Oliwier, 2,551
  22. Tymoteusz, 2,278
  23. Milosz, 2,234
  24. Igor, 2,226
  25. Julian, 2,040
  26. Piotr, 1,987
  27. Oskar, 1,932
  28. Gabriel, 1,712
  29. Dawid, 1,489
  30. Krzysztof, 1,352
  31. Bartosz, 1,315
  32. Dominik, 1,271
  33. Natan, 1,222
  34. Bruno, 1,214
  35. Mateusz, 1,209
  36. Hubert, 1,152
  37. Karol, 1,141
  38. Alan, 1,058
  39. Fabian, 1,014
  40. Tomasz, 977
  41. Maciej, 975
  42. Henryk, 948
  43. Cezary, 892 (tie)
  44. Tadeusz, 892 (tie)
  45. Artur, 858
  46. Ksawery, 849 – a form of Xavier
  47. Pawel, 753
  48. Milan, 727
  49. Daniel, 717
  50. Kazimierz, 674 (tie)
  51. Kuba, 674 (tie)

(Because L‘s with a stroke don’t render properly on my site, you’ll have to imagine they exist in several of the above: the girl name Lucja and the boy names Mikolaj, Stanislaw, Michal, Milosz, and Pawel.)

Poland’s data goes all the way down to names with just two instances of usage, so here’s a sampling of the rare baby names at the opposite end of the spectrum:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Aglaja, Beyza, Celestyna, Dasza, Esenia, Freyja, Harper, Illia, Jaga, Koralia, Lilibet, Melanija, Nurana, Oktavia, Penelope, Radochna, Sviatoslava, Tekla, Ustina, Vasylisa, Yeseniya, ZytaAffan, Bronislav, Caspian, Demjan, Elisey, Florin, Gajusz, Henrik, Igo, Jarogniew, Klimek, Lian, Matwej, Neo, Przemek, Rishi, Salwador, Timo, Vadzim, Witosz, Yuri, Zorian

The two Lilibets were likely named with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter Lilibet Diana (b. 2021) in mind.

Finally, here are Poland’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Imiona nadawane dzieciom w Polsce – Otwarte Dane, Poland’s birth rate in decline shows study – The First News, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Poland (public domain)