Penny: Meaning, origin and popularity

Pronounced PEN-ee · 2 syllables

From Pen(elope) + -y.

How popular is Penny?

Penny was the #740 name in the US in 2025, given to 368 babies. It’s rising: up 42% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 1960.

Babies named Penny in the US by five-year period, relative to its peak (around 1960).

Half of US adults named Penny are older than 63; most are between 46 and 79. (Estimated from US births by year and life tables.)

Names that real brothers and sisters of people named Penny have, from family records on Wikidata, most common first.

Chosen by the same families or with a similar style and era.

Penny is pronounced PEN-ee.

Penny was the #740 name in the US in 2025, given to 368 babies. It’s rising: up 42% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 1960.

Half of US adults named Penny are older than 63. Most are between 46 and 79.