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Comments and insights on the name Penelope: | Edit

Gender: F
Origin of Penelope: Greek
Meaning of Penelope: "duck"

Penelope's Popularity in 2009: #252

Image of elderly British gardening lady in large-brimmed hat has of late been counterbalanced by the dramatic sensuality of Spanish actress Penelope Cruz. Penelope was chosen for his daughter by Taylor Hanson, of the group Hanson. Penelope's popularity is on the rise, jumping more than 100 places in the past year to #252.

Nicknames & Variations for Penelope:
Ellie, Elle, Nellie, Nelle, Pelcha, Pen, Peneli, Penina, Pip, Pippa, Penna, Penney, Pennie, Penny

Penelope's International Variations:
Pennelope, Pépélope (French) Pipitsa, Popi, Pinelopi (Greek) Peniel (Hebrew) Lopa, Pela, Pelcia (Polish) Penelopa, Peni (Spanish)

Taylor Hanson, of the band Hanson, named his daughter (born 2005) Penelope.

Personal experiences with the name Penelope: | Edit

We name our daughter Penelope May. (born Aug 2011) We came about the name by considering her our good luck penny, and when I searched for what name Penny comes from, her father and I fell in love with it. May comes from her father being born in May. We love her name and wouldn't change it for the world.

We named our daughter Penelope (born 2010). We always get surprised and excited comments when people ask her name - they all love it! It is a sweet spot between being familiar but uncommon, and strong and feminine at the same time. We call her just Penelope or Nellie.

My daughter (born 2008) is named Penelope. Everyone always loves her name. We call her Penny and Pen-pen.

My grandaughter's name is Penelapie (pronounced-penelope) and we call her P-pie or just 'pie'.

My daughter's name is Penelope Cate. It's lovely, I think! Her nickname is Penny and also Penny Lane to her father and I. I used to sing the Beatles song to her(still do), so it stuck. She was born in early 2008.

Nicknames for Penelope: | Edit

Elle, Ellie, Lopi, Lopé, Min-Pin, Nell, Nelle, Nells, Nellie, Pena, Pen Pen, Penn, Penny, Penney, Pip, Pipa, Pippa, Poppy

Meanings and history of the name Penelope: | Edit

From Greek, meaning "weaver"

Famous real-life people named Penelope: | Edit

Penelope Cruz, Spanish actress
Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
Penelope Keith, English actress
Penelope Lively, English author
Penelope Wilton, English actress
Penelope Spheeris, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Penelope in song, story & screen: | Edit

"Penelope" was the wife of Odysseus who waited faithfully for his return in The Odyssey
Penelope "Punky" Brewster, character on the eponymous '80s children's sitcom
Penelope Pitstop, from old Wacky Racers cartoons and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
Penelope (Penny) Widmore is a character on the TV series Lost
Penelope Garcia from the TV series Criminal Minds
Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw Prefect in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward from the television show Thunderbirds
"Penny" is a character on The Big Bang Theory
"Penny" is a character in the film Hairspray
Penelope Gaines is a character in the webcomic Questionable Content
Penelope is one of the hamsters of the Ham-Ham Gang in the anime "Hamtaro"
Penelope movie starring Christina Ricci as a girl with a pig nose
Penny is Inspector Gadget's precocious niece
"Penny Lane", a song by the Beatles
"Penny & Me", a song by Hanson
PJ is the main character in My Boys. It was revealed that her first name is Penelope.