Girls' name · peaked in 2019
Penelope name popularity since 1925
108,903 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Penelope. Half of them were born in 2017 or earlier, so the typical Penelope is about 9 years old in 2026. Penelope peaked in 2019 as the #22 name for girls, and it ranked #22 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 108,903
- Named Penelope, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #22
- for girls in 2025 (6,225 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 100.0% girls
- 108,850 girls · 53 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 2.34× its national share
Peak year is the year Penelope made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Penelope births per year, 1925–2025
2019 was the biggest year for Penelope both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1973 and 1978, Penelope's share of baby girls fell by 53%, from 1 in 6,600 to 1 in 14,200.
- Fastest rise: Between 2008 and 2013, it became 5× more common, from 1 in 2,060 baby girls to 1 in 409.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Penelope's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Penelope.
Decade by decade
Babies named Penelope in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 279 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 1,109 | 0 | #830 |
| 1940s | 6,383 | 0 | #305 |
| 1950s | 4,758 | 0 | #436 |
| 1960s | 2,871 | 0 | #585 |
| 1970s | 1,750 | 0 | #844 |
| 1980s | 609 | 0 | #1,992 |
| 1990s | 795 | 0 | #1,604 |
| 2000s | 5,677 | 0 | #561 |
| 2010s | 47,614 | 27 | #34 |
| 2020–25 | 37,005 | 26 | #22 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
72.3% of babies named Penelope from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Penelope is most popular
The index compares Penelope's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Penelope.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 2.34× | 890 |
| Arizona | 1.96× | 2,710 |
| Washington | 1.64× | 2,922 |
| Oregon | 1.61× | 1,603 |
| Florida | 1.46× | 5,617 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Penelope's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Penelope.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Penelope (2019).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data