Meaning of the namePenélope
- Female
- Greek origin
- Pe-né-lo-pe
Penélope is a female name of Greek origin, that of Odysseus's wife in the Odyssey, probably linked to a word for a type of duck.
- People (2022)
- 2,781
- Rank in Brazil
- #4,098
- Median age
- 12 years
- 2010 Census
- 1,574
- people
Penélope in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Penélope, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 2010s (1,100 people).
2,766 women 0 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Penélope is most common
States with the highest share of people named Penélope in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio de Janeiro 0.002%
- Pará 0.002%
- São Paulo 0.002%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.002%
- Santa Catarina 0.002%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 675 | 0.002% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 313 | 0.002% |
| Minas Gerais | 237 | 0.001% |
| Bahia | 175 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 162 | 0.002% |
| Paraná | 148 | 0.001% |
| Pará | 128 | 0.002% |
| Santa Catarina | 113 | 0.002% |
| Pernambuco | 111 | 0.001% |
| Ceará | 99 | 0.001% |
| Espírito Santo | 83 | 0.002% |
| Goiás | 78 | 0.001% |
| Amazonas | 62 | 0.002% |
| Maranhão | 58 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 53 | 0.002% |
| Distrito Federal | 52 | 0.002% |
| Mato Grosso | 47 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 36 | 0.001% |
| Paraíba | 32 | 0.001% |
| Alagoas | 28 | 0.001% |
| Piauí | 22 | 0.001% |
| Sergipe | 21 | 0.001% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Penélope
Penélope is the name of Odysseus's wife in Homer's Odyssey. According to Behind the Name, it comes from Greek and is probably related to a word for a type of duck; another hypothesis is that it combines words for 'thread, weft' and 'face, eye'. The form Penélope, with an accent, is the Portuguese and Spanish one; Penelope without an accent is the English one. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 2,781 people named Penélope, with a median age of 12. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio de Janeiro.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Penelope · behindthename.com · meaning
Questions about the name Penélope
What does the name Penélope mean?
Penélope means “probably 'duck' (Greek penelops)”, according to Behind the Name.
How many people are named Penélope in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 2,781 people with the first name Penélope, which ranks it number 4,098 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 2010s.
Is Penélope a boy's or a girl's name?
Penélope is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 2,766 women and 0 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).
What is the origin of the name Penélope?
Penélope is a name of Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Penélope most common?
Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.002% of the state's population is named Penélope (313 people), according to the 2022 Census.
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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Penélope with a source. See the methodology.