Greek pene, "thread on a bobbin" — weaver. The wife of Odysseus, who wove and unwove a shroud for twenty years to hold off suitors.
Penelope ranks 22nd among American girls in 2025, with 6,225 born that year. Its best year was 2019, when 6,734 babies were given the name, ranking 22nd. The typical living American called Penelope is about 9 years old today. It is relatively most common in Alaska, where it accounts for 0.61% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.