Pearly
Having a pearl-like or lustrous appearance.
Name Census estimates that about 478 living Americans carry the first name Pearly. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Pearly today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pearly births was 1924 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pearly. 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
- • The typical person named Pearly is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pearlys were born before 1964.
People living today
478
~ 1 in 717,059 Americans
Peak year
1924
61 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1962 SSA rank
#4,480
Tracked since 1884
Gender
Gender distribution for Pearly
Pearly leans heavily female at 89.0% of total registrations, but 208 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pearly as a male name
- Ranked #4,480 in 1962
- 5 male births in 1962
- Peak: 1929 (11 births)
Pearly as a female name
- Ranked #13,238 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1924 (53 births)
Popularity
Pearly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pearly from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 450 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
Pearly 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 Pearly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pearlys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Pearly, while Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pearly
The name Pearly finds its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "pearle," which referred to the small, precious gemstone formed within oysters. The name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, spanning from the 5th to the 11th century AD.
Historically, the name Pearly held significance as a symbol of purity, beauty, and rarity, reflecting the qualities associated with pearls themselves. It was often bestowed upon individuals with a radiant presence or those born into wealthy families, as pearls were highly valued and considered a luxury item.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pearly can be traced back to the 12th century, when a noblewoman named Pearly de Clifford was mentioned in the chronicles of Winchester Abbey in England. Another notable figure bearing this name was Pearly Wainwright, a prominent English merchant who lived in the 16th century and established a successful trading company in London.
During the 17th century, the name Pearly gained popularity among Puritan families in New England, who appreciated its association with purity and simplicity. One such individual was Pearly Brewster, born in 1620, who was among the first settlers of Plymouth Colony and played a significant role in the establishment of the new community.
In the 19th century, the name Pearly became associated with the literary world when Pearly Bysshe Shelley, an English Romantic poet, achieved fame for her works, including "Frankenstein" and "Prometheus Unbound." She was born in 1792 and passed away in 1822.
Another notable figure from this era was Pearly Nightingale, the pioneering English nurse and social reformer who was instrumental in improving healthcare standards during the Crimean War. She was born in 1820 and died in 1910, leaving a lasting legacy in the field of nursing.
In more recent times, the name Pearly has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including Pearly Mae Buck, an American writer and novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 for her literary achievements.
People
Pearly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pearly 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
Pearly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pearly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 478 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pearly 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 717,059 US residents.
Is Pearly a common name?
We classify Pearly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,897 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pearly most popular?
The single biggest year for Pearly was 1924, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pearly is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pearly a female name?
Yes, 89.0% of people registered as Pearly 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.