Perlie
A feminine given name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Perlie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Perlie today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Perlie births was 1922 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Perlie. 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 Perlie is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Perlies were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Perlie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1922
29 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,940
Tracked since 1889
Gender
Gender distribution for Perlie
Perlie leans heavily female at 88.6% of total registrations, but 73 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Perlie as a male name
- Ranked #3,940 in 1936
- 5 male births in 1936
- Peak: 1915 (8 births)
Perlie as a female name
- Ranked #5,075 in 1960
- 8 female births in 1960
- Peak: 1922 (22 births)
Popularity
Perlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Perlie from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 210 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
Perlie 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 Perlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Perlies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Perlie
The name Perlie is derived from the Old French word "perle," meaning "pearl." It has its roots in the Latin word "perla," which was borrowed from the Greek word "pērḗ." The name's association with pearls suggests a connection to beauty, rarity, and preciousness.
During the Middle Ages, the name Perlie was often used as a nickname or diminutive form of the name Pearl. It gained popularity as a given name in its own right in the 19th century, particularly in English-speaking countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Perlie can be found in the 1850 United States Federal Census, where it appears as the first name of a few individuals. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name experienced a surge in popularity, likely due to its association with the beauty and elegance of pearls.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Perlie include:
1. Perlie Prentice (1870-1946), an American educator and writer from Mississippi.
2. Perlie Petrie (1885-1971), an American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues from 1904 to 1907.
3. Perlie Henderson (1889-1965), an American politician who served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1927 to 1931.
4. Perlie Acton (1903-1989), an American baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues during the 1920s and 1930s.
5. Perlie Peyton (1908-1998), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films during the 1930s and 1940s.
While the name Perlie may not be as common today as it once was, its connection to the symbolism of pearls and its historical roots make it a unique and meaningful choice for a given name.
People
Perlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Perlie 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
Perlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Perlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Perlie 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Perlie a common name?
We classify Perlie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 638 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Perlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Perlie was 1922, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Perlie is about 84 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Perlie a female name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Perlie 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.