Penelope (given name)
 | |
| Pronunciation | /pəˈnɛləpi/[1][2] pə-NEL-ə-pee |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Greek mythology |
| Meaning | Weaver |
| Other names | |
| Nickname(s) | Nell, Nellie, Nelly, Pen, Penny, Pepper, Pip, Pippa, Popi, Poppi, Poppy, Punky. |
Penelope, often used in reference to Homer's character, is a female first name of Greek origin. It is of uncertain meaning but may be derived from the Greek word penelops, which means duck or refers to another water fowl sacred to the Ancient Greeks. The name might also be derived from the Greek pene meaning web and either ops meaning eye or lepo, meaning unraveled, implying the meaning weaver.[3][4][5][6] The name was revived in the Anglosphere by the mid-16th Century and has since been in occasional use.[7]
Popularity[edit]
The name has increased in popularity in recent years. It is among the most popular names for girls in Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States.[8][9][10]
People[edit]
- Penelope, Lady Aitken (1910–2005), English socialite
- Penelope Aubin, English novelist
- Penelope Austin, Australian singer-songwriter
- Penelope Blount, Countess of Devonshire (1562–1607), English noblewoman
- Penelope Boston, American speleologist
- Penelope Carwardine, English painter
- Penelope Casas, American food writer
- Penelope Chetwode, English travel writer
- Penelope Coelen, South African beauty pageant contestant
- Penélope Cruz (born 1974), Spanish actress
- Penelope Delta (1874–1941), Greek author
- Penelope Dudley-Ward (1914–1982), English actress
- Penelope Fillon (born 1955), wife of French politician and former Prime Minister of France François Fillon
- Penelope Fitzgerald (1916–2000), Booker Prize-winning English novelist, poet, essayist and biographer
- Penelope Gilliatt (1932–1993), English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and film critic
- Penelope Jean Hayes, American self-help author
- Penelope Heyns (born 1974), South African swimmer and double gold medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games
- Penelope Houston (born 1958), American singer-songwriter
- Penelope Keith (born 1940), English actress famous for TV sitcoms
- Penelope Lively (born 1933), British fiction writer
- Penelope Ann Miller (born 1964), American actress
- Penelope Mortimer (1918–1999), British journalist, biographer and novelist
- Penelope Mountbatten, Lady Ivar Mountbatten (born 1966), British philanthropist and businesswoman
- Penelope Spheeris (born 1945), American director, producer and screenwriter
- Penelope Stout (17th century), early white settler of Monmouth County, New Jersey
- Penelope Tree (born 1950), Anglo-American former fashion model prominent in swinging sixties London
- Penelope Wensley (born 1946), Governor of Queensland, Australia
- Penelope Wilton (born 1946), English actress
Fictional and mythological characters[edit]
- Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey
- Penelope, mother of the god Pan in Greek mythology
- Penelope, a character in the anime Hamtaro
- Penelope, a major antagonist in the Sly Cooper video game series
- Penelope, a character in the 2002 animated film Barbie as Rapunzel
- Penelope Alvarez, a character in One Day at a Time
- Penelope "Punky" Brewster, the main character in the television sitcom Punky Brewster
- Penelope Clearwater, a character in the Harry Potter series
- Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, a character from the 1960s television program Thunderbirds
- Penelope Featherington, a character from the book and TV series Bridgerton
- Penelope Garcia, a character in the television drama Criminal Minds
- Penelope Lang, an antagonist in the animated series Atomic Betty
- Penelope Park, a character in Legacies
- Penelope Parker, a Marvel Comics superhero
- Penelope Pitstop, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character
- Penelope Puff, a character in the television series SpongeBob SquarePants
- Penelope Pussycat, a character from the Looney Tunes franchise
- Penelope Shafai, a character in Gossip Girl
- Penelope Taynt, a character in The Amanda Show
- Penelope Wilhern, a character in the 2006 film Penelope, portrayed by Christina Ricci
- Penny Widmore, a recurring character on the television show Lost
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Penelope". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
- ^ "Penelope". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
- ^ "Meaning, origin and history of the name Penelope".
- ^ "Name of the Week".
- ^ "17. Penelope and the Penelops".
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780198610601.
- ^ Redmonds, George, Christian Names in Local and Family History, Dundurn Press, 2004, ISBN 1-55002-507-4 p. 41
- ^ "Meaning, origin and history of the name Penelope".
- ^ "Popular Baby Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ Kelly, Lesley-Anne; Morrice, Emma; Santa Cruz, Joely (28 March 2022). "King David and the death of Karen: Scotland's baby name trends for past 50 years". thecourier.co.uk. The Courier. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
See also[edit]
This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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