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

Top names for baby girls, length by length, in 2024

Lengths of baby girl names in 2024 (U.S.)

The most common length for baby girl names last year was 6 letters (used 29.0% of the time), followed by 5 letters (22.2%) and 7 letters (18.4%).

What were the most popular girl names of 2024 within each length group?

Top girl names with 2 letters:

  1. Jo
  2. An
  3. Vy
  4. Bo
  5. Vi

Top girl names with 3 letters:

  1. Mia
  2. Ava
  3. Zoe
  4. Ivy
  5. Eva

Top girl names with 4 letters:

  1. Emma
  2. Luna
  3. Nora
  4. Lily
  5. Aria

Top girl names with 5 letters:

  1. Sofia
  2. Hazel
  3. Chloe
  4. Ellie
  5. Emily

Top girl names with 6 letters:

  1. Olivia
  2. Amelia
  3. Sophia
  4. Evelyn
  5. Camila

Top girl names with 7 letters:

  1. Eleanor
  2. Abigail
  3. Madison
  4. Delilah
  5. Lillian

Top girl names with 8 letters:

  1. Isabella
  2. Scarlett
  3. Penelope
  4. Victoria
  5. Madeline

Top girl names with 9 letters:

  1. Charlotte
  2. Elizabeth
  3. Valentina
  4. Josephine
  5. Gabriella

Top girl names with 10 letters:

  1. Evangeline
  2. Alessandra
  3. Alexandria
  4. Clementine
  5. Jacqueline

Top girl names with 11 letters:

  1. Yashnareddy
  2. Anavictoria
  3. Aadhyareddy
  4. Ramatoulaye
  5. Ameliagrace (tied with #6)

(Yashnareddy debuted impressively in the data last year.)

Top girl names with 12 letters:

  1. Marymargaret
  2. Isabellarose
  3. Mariacecilia
  4. Scarlettrose
  5. Mariaeduarda

Top girl names with 13 letters:

  1. Oluwadarasimi
  2. Maryelizabeth
  3. Mariafernanda
  4. Chrysanthemum
  5. Marykatherine

(There weren’t enough 14-letter or 15-letter names to create a top-5 list for either group.)

Source: SSA

Top names for baby girls, letter by letter, in 2024

First letters of baby girl names in 2024 (U.S.)

The most common first letter for baby girl names last year was A (used 16.6% of the time), followed by E (9.7%) and M (9.2%).

The least common first letter was U (used 0.04% of the time), followed by Q (0.2%) and X (0.3%).

So, what were the most popular girl names of 2024 within each letter group?

Top girl names starting with A:

  1. Amelia
  2. Ava
  3. Aurora
  4. Aria
  5. Avery

Top girl names starting with B:

  1. Brooklyn
  2. Bella
  3. Brielle
  4. Blakely
  5. Brianna

Top girl names starting with C:

  1. Charlotte
  2. Camila
  3. Chloe
  4. Claire
  5. Clara

Top girl names starting with D:

  1. Delilah
  2. Daisy
  3. Daphne
  4. Delaney
  5. Dahlia

Top girl names starting with E:

  1. Emma
  2. Evelyn
  3. Eleanor
  4. Elizabeth
  5. Eliana

Top girl names starting with F:

  1. Freya
  2. Faith
  3. Francesca
  4. Fatima
  5. Finley

Top girl names starting with G:

  1. Gianna
  2. Grace
  3. Genesis
  4. Gabriella
  5. Georgia

Top girl names starting with H:

  1. Harper
  2. Hazel
  3. Hannah
  4. Hailey
  5. Hadley

Top girl names starting with I:

  1. Isabella
  2. Isla
  3. Ivy
  4. Iris
  5. Isabel

Top girl names starting with J:

  1. Josephine
  2. Jade
  3. Josie
  4. Juniper
  5. Julia

Top girl names starting with K:

  1. Kinsley
  2. Kennedy
  3. Kehlani
  4. Katherine
  5. Kaia

Top girl names starting with L:

  1. Luna
  2. Lily
  3. Lucy
  4. Layla
  5. Lainey

Top girl names starting with M:

  1. Mia
  2. Mila
  3. Madison
  4. Maya
  5. Madelyn

Top girl names starting with N:

  1. Nora
  2. Nova
  3. Naomi
  4. Natalie
  5. Natalia

Top girl names starting with O:

  1. Olivia
  2. Oaklynn
  3. Oakley
  4. Olive
  5. Ophelia

Top girl names starting with P:

  1. Penelope
  2. Paisley
  3. Parker
  4. Piper
  5. Peyton

Top girl names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn
  2. Quincy
  3. Queen
  4. Quinley
  5. Quetzaly

Top girl names starting with R:

  1. Riley
  2. Ruby
  3. Raelynn
  4. Rose
  5. Rylee

Top girl names starting with S:

  1. Sophia
  2. Sofia
  3. Scarlett
  4. Stella
  5. Sadie

Top girl names starting with T:

  1. Tatum
  2. Talia
  3. Tessa
  4. Teagan
  5. Thea

(Taylor, which ranked second in 2023, dropped to sixth last year.)

Top girl names starting with U:

  1. Unique
  2. Ulani
  3. Uma
  4. Una
  5. Unknown

(One spot below the placeholder “unknown” is the name Unity.)

Top girl names starting with V:

  1. Violet
  2. Valentina
  3. Victoria
  4. Vivian
  5. Valerie

Top girl names starting with W:

  1. Willow
  2. Wrenley
  3. Wren
  4. Wrenlee
  5. Winter

Top girl names starting with X:

  1. Ximena
  2. Xiomara
  3. Xyla
  4. Xochitl
  5. Xolani

Top girl names starting with Y:

  1. Yara
  2. Yareli
  3. Yaretzi
  4. Yamileth
  5. Yasmin

Top girl names starting with Z:

  1. Zoe
  2. Zoey
  3. Zara
  4. Zuri
  5. Zariah

Source: SSA

Popular baby names in the United States, 2024

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

Earlier today, the SSA released the 2024 U.S. baby name data. The top two names in the nation are Olivia and Liam, yet again.

Here are the new top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 14,718 baby girls
  2. Emma, 13,485
  3. Amelia, 12,740
  4. Charlotte, 12,552
  5. Mia, 12,113
  6. Sophia, 12,088
  7. Isabella, 10,770
  8. Evelyn, 9,116
  9. Ava, 8,662
  10. Sofia, 8,094

Boy names

  1. Liam, 22,164 baby boys
  2. Noah, 20,337
  3. Oliver, 15,343
  4. Theodore, 12,011
  5. James, 11,793
  6. Henry, 11,547
  7. Mateo, 11,302
  8. Elijah, 11,171
  9. Lucas, 10,703
  10. William, 10,596

In the girls’ top 10, Sofia replaced Luna.

The boys’ top 10 consists of the same ten names.

Here are the rest of the names in the top 50 (for both genders):

RankGirl namesBoy names
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50		Camila, 7,608
Harper, 7,370
Luna, 7,135
Eleanor, 7,127
Violet, 6,972
Aurora, 6,917
Elizabeth, 6,878
Eliana, 6,423
Hazel, 6,401
Chloe, 6,385
Ellie, 6,306
Nora, 6,128
Gianna, 6,097
Lily, 6,093
Emily, 5,955
Aria, 5,935
Scarlett, 5,894
Penelope, 5,741
Zoe, 5,719
Ella, 5,685
Avery, 5,632
Abigail, 5,499
Mila, 5,472
Lucy, 5,396
Isla, 5,367
Ivy, 5,323
Layla, 5,305
Lainey, 5,147
Nova, 5,044
Grace, 5,002
Willow, 4,653
Riley, 4,644
Emilia, 4,634
Naomi, 4,605
Elena, 4,567
Madison, 4,563
Valentina, 4,438
Victoria, 4,267
Stella, 4,264
Delilah, 4,240		Benjamin, 9,814
Levi, 9,513
Ezra, 8,774
Sebastian, 8,562
Jack, 8,434
Daniel, 8,391
Samuel, 8,310
Michael, 8,189
Ethan, 8,170
Asher, 8,123
John, 8,047
Hudson, 7,990
Luca, 7,959
Leo, 7,793
Elias, 7,653
Owen, 7,574
Alexander, 7,517
Dylan, 7,464
Santiago, 7,407
Julian, 7,368
David, 7,317
Joseph, 7,223
Matthew, 7,078
Luke, 7,039
Jackson, 6,876
Maverick, 6,615
Miles, 6,611
Wyatt, 6,581
Thomas, 6,576
Isaac, 6,498
Jacob, 6,496
Mason, 6,471
Gabriel, 6,379
Anthony, 6,326
Carter, 6,267
Logan, 6,267
Aiden, 6,243
Grayson, 6,211
Caleb, 5,766
Cooper, 5,699

Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Each year, the list also reveals the names that increased the most in popularity. Among those rising in popularity for girls, Ailany, which means ‘chief’, topped the list. The boys’ name Truce, which means ‘peace’, rose an incredible 11,118 spots from last year’s position, cracking the top 1,000 at number 991 overall.

Interestingly — and, as this quote kind of implies — the SSA’s Change in Popularity page now covers ranking differences across all the data (not just differences within the top 1,000).

I’ll write more posts about the new names over the next few days…

Sources: Popular Baby Names – SSA, Olivia and Liam Remain Most Popular Baby Names for 2024

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2024

Flag of California
Flag of California

Last year, the California county of Sonoma welcomed about 2,500 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Liam for boys and a three-way tie between Amelia, Camila, and Mia for girls.

Here are Sonoma’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Amelia, 13 baby girls (3-way tie)
  2. Camila, 13 (3-way tie)
  3. Mia, 13 (3-way tie)
  4. Emma, 12
  5. Charlotte, 11
  6. Luna, 10 (tie)
  7. Scarlett, 10 (tie)
  8. Charlie, 8 (6-way tie)
  9. Elena, 8 (6-way tie)
  10. Eliana, 8 (6-way tie)
  11. Gianna, 8 (6-way tie)
  12. Lucy, 8 (6-way tie)
  13. Valentina, 8 (6-way tie)
  14. Grace, 7 (9-way tie)
  15. Isabella, 7 (9-way tie)
  16. Isla, 7 (9-way tie)
  17. Lucia, 7 (9-way tie)
  18. Madison, 7 (9-way tie)
  19. Maya, 7 (9-way tie)
  20. Natalia, 7 (9-way tie)
  21. Quinn, 7 (9-way tie)
  22. Sophia, 7 (9-way tie)
  23. Ava, 6 (15-way tie)
  24. Ella, 6 (15-way tie)
  25. Evelyn, 6 (15-way tie)
  26. Hazel, 6 (15-way tie)
  27. Layla, 6 (15-way tie)
  28. Leah, 6 (15-way tie)
  29. Lillian, 6 (15-way tie)
  30. Olivia, 6 (15-way tie)
  31. Riley, 6 (15-way tie)
  32. River, 6 (15-way tie)
  33. Ruby, 6 (15-way tie)
  34. Sofia, 6 (15-way tie)
  35. Victoria, 6 (15-way tie)
  36. Violet, 6 (15-way tie)
  37. Willow, 6 (15-way tie)
  38. Amari, 5 (7-way tie)
  39. Genesis, 5 (7-way tie)
  40. Hannah, 5 (7-way tie)
  41. Harper, 5 (7-way tie)
  42. Itzel, 5 (7-way tie)
  43. Penelope, 5 (7-way tie)
  44. Sophie, 5 (7-way tie)
  45. Amaya, 4 (19-way tie)
  46. Ariel, 4 (19-way tie)
  47. Athena, 4 (19-way tie)
  48. Aubrey, 4 (19-way tie)
  49. Cecilia, 4 (19-way tie)
  50. Emery, 4 (19-way tie)
  51. Georgia, 4 (19-way tie)
  52. Hadley, 4 (19-way tie)
  53. Jade, 4 (19-way tie)
  54. Josephine, 4 (19-way tie)
  55. Kimberly, 4 (19-way tie)
  56. Leilani, 4 (19-way tie)
  57. Lia, 4 (19-way tie)
  58. Lily, 4 (19-way tie)
  59. Maeve, 4 (19-way tie)
  60. Mila, 4 (19-way tie)
  61. Nevaeh, 4 (19-way tie)
  62. Sienna, 4 (19-way tie)
  63. Zoey, 4 (19-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Liam, 22 baby boys
  2. Sebastian, 17
  3. Noah, 14
  4. James, 13 (tie)
  5. Santiago, 13 (tie)
  6. Dylan, 12 (tie)
  7. Mateo, 12 (tie)
  8. Damian, 11 (tie)
  9. Luca, 11 (tie)
  10. Ivan, 10 (3-way tie)
  11. Julian, 10 (3-way tie)
  12. Leo, 10 (3-way tie)
  13. Ethan, 9 (5-way tie)
  14. Mason, 9 (5-way tie)
  15. Miles, 9 (5-way tie)
  16. Theodore, 9 (5-way tie)
  17. William, 9 (5-way tie)
  18. Angel, 8 (3-way tie)
  19. Christian, 8 (3-way tie)
  20. Lucas, 8 (3-way tie)
  21. Adriel, 7 (9-way tie)
  22. Asher, 7 (9-way tie)
  23. Emiliano, 7 (9-way tie)
  24. Hudson, 7 (9-way tie)
  25. Jackson, 7 (9-way tie)
  26. John, 7 (9-way tie)
  27. Joshua, 7 (9-way tie)
  28. Levi, 7 (9-way tie)
  29. Logan, 7 (9-way tie)
  30. Benjamin, 6 (9-way tie)
  31. Cameron, 6 (9-way tie)
  32. Emilio, 6 (9-way tie)
  33. Henry, 6 (9-way tie)
  34. Jaxon, 6 (9-way tie)
  35. Jesus, 6 (9-way tie)
  36. Jonathan, 6 (9-way tie)
  37. Lorenzo, 6 (9-way tie)
  38. Roman, 6 (9-way tie)
  39. Adrian, 5 (19-way tie)
  40. Alejandro, 5 (19-way tie)
  41. Bodhi, 5 (19-way tie)
  42. Cooper, 5 (19-way tie)
  43. David, 5 (19-way tie)
  44. Dean, 5 (19-way tie)
  45. Diego, 5 (19-way tie)
  46. Javier, 5 (19-way tie)
  47. Leonardo, 5 (19-way tie)
  48. Luke, 5 (19-way tie)
  49. Matteo, 5 (19-way tie)
  50. Michael, 5 (19-way tie)
  51. Milan, 5 (19-way tie)
  52. Oliver, 5 (19-way tie)
  53. Owen, 5 (19-way tie)
  54. Ryan, 5 (19-way tie)
  55. Ryder, 5 (19-way tie)
  56. Waylon, 5 (19-way tie)
  57. Wyatt, 5 (19-way tie)

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Alitzel, Brithany, Clary, Daylin, Erandi, Frida, Gielah, Hera, Iana, Janellie, Kalia, Leeba, Marbie, Nevayla, Olema, Ponderosa, Quincy, Roshi, Salacia, Souvenir, Spider Gwen, Trillium, Upsana, Vaila, Wilma, Xiamara, Yanis, ZulaAiram, Branimir, Cinco, Court, Divaldo, Dorje, Essiel, Fidel, Gabino, Heriberto, Isai, Jesiah, Kipono, Laszlo, Macklin, Nelson, Ove, Percival, Quinlan, Rifton, Sylo, Tanjiro, Uriah, Viliamu, Wiley, Xiveer, Yariel, Zaelyn

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

  • Airam is “Maria” spelled backwards.
  • Cinco is the Spanish word for “five.”
  • Dorje is a Tibetan name that refers to a diamond, a thunderbolt, “or an indestructible phenomenon.” (Its literal translation is “lord of stone.”)
  • Erandi is the Purépecha word for “dawn.”
  • Ponderosa is a type of North American pine tree (Pinus ponderosa). The name refers to the tree’s heavy (or “ponderous”) wood.
  • Salacia was the Roman goddess of saltwater. Her name is based on sal, the Latin word for “salt.”
  • Spider-Gwen is the fan-created nickname of comic book character Spider-Woman (a.k.a. Gwen Stacy).
  • Trillium is a type of flower with three petals and three sepals.
  • Viliamu is the Samoan form of William.

Finally, here are Sonoma’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)