Given name & surname
Pamela
“very strange”·“a woman who is as sweet as honey”
Pamela is a literary creation whose original linguistic inspiration remains unknown.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “very strange” and “a woman who is as sweet as honey” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Philip Sidney created Pamela in the Elizabethan period. Samuel Richardson later used it for the heroine of his 1740 novel; Henry Fielding’s response, Joseph Andrews, helped make the name part of an eighteenth-century literary conversation.
Pamela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 596,462
- 1,386 boys · 595,076 girls
- Most popular year
- 1954
- 27,398 babies
- 2025
- 82
- #2,251 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 82 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,251 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 35.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 27,361 in 1954. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (12). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 495,991 as a first name in 2020; 151 as a surname in 2000.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Pamela’s family of names
In English usage, Pamela has a diminutive in Pam. In English usage, Pamela shares a linguistic root with the Ancient Greek form Πᾶς. Pamela has a related form in Pamella.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Pamela
- Pamela AndersonCanadian actress and model (born 1967)
- Pam BondiAmerican attorney and politician (born 1965)
- Pamela MelroyAmerican astronautborn 1961
- Pamela AdlonAmerican actressborn 1966
- Pam ShriverAmerican tennis playerborn 1962
- Pamela JelimoKenyan middle distance runnerborn 1989
- BayleyAmerican professional wrestlerborn 1989
- Pamela Colman SmithBritish occultist, artist and illustrator (1878–1951)
- Pamela ReedAmerican actressborn 1949
Characters named Pamela: Pamela Voorhees (the Friday the 13th series), Pam Beesly (fictional character on NBC's The Office), Pam Ewing (CBS' Dallas).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Pamela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merry
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Marilyn
“a man of the lake”
>99% girls
Sheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling” · “from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Beth
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Licia
Licia is a variant of Lecia. In English use, Lecia carries the interpretation “woman of the nobility; truthful; having high moral character.”
>99% girls
Lecia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Janis
Janis is used as a given name and a surname. Janis is connected with Janice and John.
7% boys · 93% girls
Chirley
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls