Penny

Penny: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “weaver”
Origin: English
Say it: PEN-ee · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

A diminutive of Penelope. It can also be used as a nickname based on the coin name, but as a given name it usually comes from Penelope.

English names Classic names Short names

How popular is Penny?

2024113 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Penny in 2024376

2024 rank#746 girls

Peak year1963

Total US babies since 1880100,631

Penny is rising: use over the last five years is 1.9× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Penny

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Penelopeweaver; duck · Greek
Pennieweaver · Greek
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English

Penny questions

What does the name Penny mean?

Penny means "weaver". It comes from English. A diminutive of Penelope. It can also be used as a nickname based on the coin name, but as a given name it usually comes from Penelope.

Is Penny a boy or girl name?

Penny is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Penny?

376 US babies were named Penny in 2024. Its peak year was 1963.

How do you pronounce Penny?

Penny is usually pronounced PEN-ee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.