Persephonie
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "she who destroys in darkness".
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the first name Persephonie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Persephonie today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Persephonie births was 2013 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Persephonie. 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
112
~ 1 in 3,060,307 Americans
Peak year
2013
14 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,878
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Persephonie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Persephonie from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Persephonie 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 Persephonie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Persephonie
The name Persephonie has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and culture, dating back to the Archaic period of Greece between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. It is derived from the name Persephone, the Greek goddess of fertility, spring, vegetation, and the underworld. The name Persephone is believed to originate from the ancient Greek words "perthein" meaning "to destroy" and "phone" meaning "murder" or "killing."
In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility. The myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, the god of the underworld, and her eventual return to the surface for part of the year, was used to explain the changing of the seasons. Her name, with its darker connotations, may have reflected her role as the queen of the underworld.
The earliest recorded use of the name Persephonie can be found in ancient Greek literature, such as the works of Homer and Hesiod. The playwright Euripides also wrote a tragic play titled "Persephone," which is now lost but was likely based on the mythological figure.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Persephonie, though it has been relatively uncommon. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Persephonie of Cyzicus (c. 510 BCE), a Greek lyric poetess from the city of Cyzicus in Asia Minor.
Another notable figure was Persephonie of Ephesus (c. 450 BCE), a priestess of the Artemis cult in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, which was located in modern-day Turkey. She is mentioned in several ancient texts, including the works of the Greek historian Pausanias.
In the Middle Ages, there was a Byzantine noblewoman named Persephonie Komnene (c. 1140-1208), who was a member of the Komnenos dynasty and the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
During the Renaissance period, Persephonie Strozzi (1468-1506) was an Italian poet and humanist from the prominent Strozzi family of Florence. She was renowned for her poetry and her patronage of the arts.
In more recent times, Persephonie Rivière (1908-1991) was a French actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the mid-20th century.
People
Persephonie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Persephonie 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
Persephonie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Persephonie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 112 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Persephonie 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 3,060,307 US residents.
Is Persephonie a common name?
We classify Persephonie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Persephonie most popular?
The single biggest year for Persephonie was 2013, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Persephonie is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Persephonie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Persephonie 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.