Pearlie
A feminine name derived from "pearl", the precious gem.
Name Census estimates that about 4,550 living Americans carry the first name Pearlie. It is a predominantly female name (96.3% of registrations). The average person named Pearlie today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pearlie births was 1928 (411 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pearlie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Pearlie is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 699 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Pearlie is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pearlies were born before 1961.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 75,331 Americans
Peak year
1928
411 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1966 SSA rank
#3,827
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Pearlie
Pearlie leans heavily female at 96.3% of total registrations, but 699 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pearlie as a male name
- Ranked #3,827 in 1966
- 6 male births in 1966
- Peak: 1916 (25 births)
Pearlie as a female name
- Ranked #14,729 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1937 (390 births)
Popularity
Pearlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pearlie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 3,607 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pearlie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Pearlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pearlies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia recorded the most babies named Pearlie, while Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 790 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pearlie
The name Pearlie originates from the English language and is derived from the word "pearl," a precious gem formed inside oysters and other mollusks. The name's roots can be traced back to the Middle English word "perle," which in turn came from the Old French "perne" and the Latin "perna," meaning a kind of bivalve shellfish.
Pearlie was initially used as a nickname or diminutive form of the name Pearl, which itself was derived from the gemstone pearl. The earliest recorded use of Pearlie as a given name dates back to the late 19th century in English-speaking countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Pearlie was Pearlie Reed (1894-1984), an American gospel singer and songwriter who was a member of the influential gospel group, the Fairfield Four. She was born in Tennessee and played a significant role in popularizing the genre of African American gospel music in the early 20th century.
Another notable Pearlie was Pearlie Graham (1910-1995), an American educator and civil rights activist from South Carolina. She dedicated her life to promoting equal education opportunities for African American students and advocated for the desegregation of public schools in the South.
In the literary world, Pearlie Deloise Gault (1904-1998) was an American author and educator known for her children's books, including the popular "Miss Lulu Bett" series. Her works often explored themes of family, community, and the experiences of African American children.
Pearlie Mae Reed (1922-2002) was an American blues singer and guitarist from Louisiana. She was known for her powerful vocals and her skill on the guitar, and she was an influential figure in the development of the Louisiana blues scene in the mid-20th century.
Pearlie Sutton (1926-2009) was an American basketball player and coach from North Carolina. She was a trailblazer in women's basketball, becoming one of the first African American women to play professionally in the All-American Red Heads touring basketball team in the 1940s.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Pearlie, a name that evokes the beauty and rarity of the pearl gemstone, and has been used across various cultures and time periods.
People
Pearlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pearlie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pearlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pearlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,550 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pearlie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 75,331 US residents.
Is Pearlie a common name?
We classify Pearlie as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18,828 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pearlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Pearlie was 1928, when 411 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pearlie is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pearlie a female name?
Yes, 96.3% of people registered as Pearlie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.