How popular is the baby name Penroy 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 Penroy.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Penroy


Posts that mention the name Penroy

Baby name inspired by Utah sales tax

penny

On November 20, 1936, Anne and Roy Tygesen of Salt Lake City, Utah, welcomed a baby boy.

Mr. Tygesen had brought “a cigar box full of coin” to the hospital. Why?

“This is to pay for the hospital room,” he announced.

“Every time we paid a sales tax we put the change in this box.”

Hospital attaches counted 69 dimes, 320 nickels and 1,302 pennies.

Mr. and Mrs. Tygesen are searching for a name suggestive of Utah’s 2 per cent sales tax.

(Starting in 1933, the state of Utah had a 2% sales tax that required the usage of specially minted “sales tax tokens.”)

So what name did the Tygesens chose? Penny…sort of.

It was only a nickname. The baby’s official given names were Jasper Penroy — the middle name evidently a combination of Penny and Roy. (Two of Penny’s four siblings also had “Roy” in their names: RoyAnne and Roy, Jr.)

Jasper Penroy went on to have at least six children of his own, one of whom was a girl also called Penny.

Sources:

  • “Obituaries.” Daily Herald [Provo] 6 Aug. 1973: 4.
  • “‘Sales Tax’ Baby Is Born in Utah.” St. Petersburg Times 21 Nov. 1936: 10.
  • “‘Sales Tax’ Baby Named.” St. Joseph News-Press 22 Nov. 1936: 12A.
  • Schindler, Hal. “A Token Effort.” Salt Lake Tribune 23 Oct. 1994: J1.

Image: Adapted from Wheat Penny by finn under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.