Penelope

Penelope is an ancient Greek name, and its meaning is not settled. One idea links it to penelops, a Greek word for a duck or another water bird. Another reads it as a word for weaving, which fits the story of its most famous bearer.

In Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, who is away for twenty years. She fends off a crowd of suitors by saying she will choose one when she finishes weaving a shroud, then unpicks her work each night. English speakers took up the name in the sixteenth century.

Penelope was given now and then in Ireland when the CSO records begin, but it was very rare for decades. It grew quickly in the 2010s, and its best year was 2019, with 46 girls at number 122. It is a similar story in Northern Ireland, where it reached number 99 in 2023.