Petula
A feminine Latin name meaning "little girl" or derived from the word "petulans," meaning "rude."
Name Census estimates that about 155 living Americans carry the first name Petula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Petula today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Petula births was 1968 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Petula. 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
155
~ 1 in 2,211,318 Americans
Peak year
1968
39 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1977 SSA rank
#10,779
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Petula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Petula from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 117 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Petula remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Petula 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 Petula during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Petulas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Petula
The name Petula has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "petulans," which means "saucy" or "wanton." It is believed to have been used as a nickname or diminutive form of the Roman family name Petulius during ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petula can be found in Ovid's "Metamorphoses," a renowned Roman mythological work from the 1st century AD. In the text, Petula is mentioned as a character, although little is known about her significance or role.
In the Middle Ages, the name Petula was relatively uncommon, but it did appear sporadically in various historical records and documents, particularly in regions with a strong Roman influence, such as Italy and parts of France.
The first notable individual with the name Petula was Saint Petula, a 5th-century Christian martyr from Rome. According to legend, she was executed for her unwavering faith during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
Another historical figure named Petula was Petula Lansbury, a 12th-century English noblewoman and landowner. She was known for her involvement in a legal dispute over land rights, which was documented in the Pipe Rolls of the reign of King Henry II.
In the 16th century, Petula Noblette was a French courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici. She is mentioned in several accounts of the French court during the Renaissance period.
During the 17th century, Petula van der Merwe was a Dutch painter known for her still-life compositions. Her works were highly regarded in her time and can be found in several prestigious art collections across Europe.
In the 19th century, Petula Marchand was a French author and poet who wrote several romantic novels and collections of verse. Her work was popular among the literary circles of Paris during the Romantic era.
While the name Petula has not been widely popular throughout history, it has maintained a unique and distinctive quality, reflecting its roots in Latin and its association with various historical figures and cultural influences.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Petula
People
Petula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Petula 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
Petula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Petula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 155 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Petula 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 2,211,318 US residents.
Is Petula a common name?
We classify Petula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 179 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Petula most popular?
The single biggest year for Petula was 1968, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Petula is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Petula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Petula 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.