Penelopi
A Greek name meaning "weaver" or "one who holds a household together".
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the first name Penelopi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Penelopi today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Penelopi births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Penelopi. 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.
People living today
133
~ 1 in 2,577,100 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,802
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Penelopi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Penelopi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Penelopi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Penelopi 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 Penelopi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Penelopis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Penelopi
Penelopi is a feminine given name derived from the Greek name Penelope, which is composed of the elements "pene" meaning "thread" or "web" and "lops" meaning "woven." The name is associated with the character Penelope from Greek mythology, the faithful wife of Odysseus who wove and unwove a burial shroud while waiting for his return from the Trojan War.
The name Penelope first appeared in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, which dates back to around the 8th century BC. In the poem, Penelope is praised for her wit, faithfulness, and cunning as she devised a plan to delay her suitors while awaiting Odysseus' return from the war.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Penelope dates back to the 4th century BC, when a Greek woman named Penelope was mentioned in an inscription found in Thessaly, Greece. Throughout history, the name has been popular among various cultures and has been adapted into different languages and spellings, including Penelopi in Greek, Penelope in English, and Pénélope in French.
Notable historical figures with the name Penelopi include Penelopi, a Byzantine empress and the second wife of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, who lived in the 12th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Penelopi Delta, a 16th-century Greek scholar and writer who was one of the first women to be recognized for her contributions to literature.
In the 18th century, Penelopi Blount was an English aristocrat and courtier who was a mistress of King Charles II. Penelopi Ioannidou, born in 1878, was a Greek feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and education in Greece.
Penelopi Deltour, born in 1936, is a French actress known for her roles in several French films. She was awarded the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1978 for her performance in the film Barocco.
People
Penelopi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Penelopi 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
Penelopi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Penelopi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 133 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Penelopi 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 2,577,100 US residents.
Is Penelopi a common name?
We classify Penelopi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Penelopi most popular?
The single biggest year for Penelopi was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Penelopi is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Penelopi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Penelopi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Penelopi 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.
Is Penelopi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Penelopi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Penelopi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Penelopi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.