girl's name
Penny
PEN-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 108,147
the United States
#740
2025 births
Penny is a girl's name of Greek origin, a diminutive of Penelope, whose own name is bound up with a duck. It ranks 137th in Northern Ireland and 232nd in England and Wales, and it is reviving.
- Penny is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1963, when 5,143 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 9,009 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Penny over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 11 |
| 1890s | 29 |
| 1900s | 50 |
| 1910s | 162 |
| 1920s | 477 |
| 1930s | 1,151 |
| 1940s | 13,177 |
| 1950s | 25,210 |
| 1960s | 38,352 |
| 1970s | 12,630 |
| 1980s | 2,951 |
| 1990s | 783 |
| 2000s | 623 |
| 2010s | 3,024 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,373 |
What Penny means
Penny inherits Penelope's meaning, which is contested. Weaver is the traditional reading, from a word for a bobbin, but the Greeks themselves connected it to penelops, a kind of duck, and that may be the older sense.
Where Penny comes from
Penny is a diminutive of Penelope, from the Greek Penelopeia. The weaver reading rests on pene, a thread on the bobbin, and suits the story: Penelope holds off her suitors for years by weaving a shroud and unpicking it each night. But ancient sources also connect the name to penelops, a duck, and tell a story in which the infant Penelope is thrown into the sea and rescued by them — which reads like an attempt to explain a name whose meaning was already unclear. The duck reading may well be the original. Penny is also the English coin, from the Old English penig, and the two are unconnected; the coin sense is why the name reads as homely in English in a way Penelope does not.
Penny in use
Penny ranks 137th in Northern Ireland with 15 births in 2024, 140th in Scotland and 232nd in England and Wales with 201 births. It is reviving from a peak in 1963, and our records carry it from 1882. It appears in every market we hold, including 157th in Ireland — a diminutive with genuinely wide reach.
How popular is Penny?
In 2025, Penny was given to 368 babies in the United States, ranking #740 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Penny is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Penny
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Penny also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Penny over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Penny in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Italian
- Penelope
Sibling names for Penny
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Penny — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Penny
What does the name Penny mean?
It inherits Penelope's meaning, which is contested between weaver and a word for a duck.
Does Penelope mean duck?
Ancient sources connect it to penelops, a duck, and that may be older than the weaver reading.
Is Penny related to the coin?
No. The coin is from the Old English penig and the two are unconnected.
How popular is Penny?
137th in Northern Ireland and 232nd in England and Wales.
Is Penny a girl's or a boy's name?
Penny is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Penny?
Penny has 2 syllables.
Is Penny a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Penny currently ranks #137 in the United States. After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.