Girl · Greek · International
Penelope
PenelopeSay it puh-NEL-uh-pee
- Meaning today
- Weaver
- Original meaning
- "uncertain; perhaps pēnē, "thread on the bobbin", or pēnelops, a duck" Online Etymology Dictionary
- Say it
- puh-NEL-uh-pee
- Other spellings
- Penelopy
Penelope
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Penelope meaning
Penelope is an international girl's name of Greek origin.
Meaning today
Weaver
Original Greek meaning
"uncertain; perhaps pēnē, "thread on the bobbin", or pēnelops, a duck"
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) · entry Penelope · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. While he is away for twenty years, she keeps her many suitors waiting by weaving a shroud by day and secretly unpicking it at night, and her name became a byword for a loyal wife. Name lists say it means "weaver", and the Online Etymology Dictionary notes a possible link with Greek pēnē, "thread on the bobbin". The linguist Beekes instead connects it with pēnelops, which the Liddell-Scott-Jones lexicon gives as a parti-coloured duck, so the origin is not certain. Penny is its short form. It is said puh-NEL-uh-pee.
References: Online Etymology Dictionary, Penelope · LSJ, πηνέλοψ (Logeion)
Famous namesakes
- Penelope, wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey
- Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
Popularity abroad
- #22 United States, girls 2025 (up 6 from 28 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #33 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Penelope · Penelopy