Given name & surname · also Latin
Pearl
“a precious gem of the sea”
Pearl is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a precious gem of the sea.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a precious gem of the sea.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Yiddish.
How it developed
From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”), from Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”), from Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”), from Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Pearl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 163,010
- 3,922 boys · 159,088 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 4,622 babies
- 2025
- 350
- #777 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 350 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 777 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 17.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 4,521 in 1918. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (57). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 30,561 as a first name in 2020; 7,222 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Pearl’s family of names
Pearl has an affectionate form in Perlita. Pearl shares a linguistic root with Perla. Pearl has a related form in Pearlie.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Pearlavariant
- Pearleevariant
- Pearleyvariant
- Pearlinavariant
- Pearlinevariant
- Pearlyvariant
- Pearlievariant
- Pearlevariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Pearl
- Pearl S. BuckAmerican writer (1892–1973)
- Zane GreyAmerican novelist (1872–1939)
- Pearl BaileyAmerican actress and singer (1918–1990)
- Pearl MackieBritish actressborn 1987
- Pearl WhiteAmerican actress (1889–1938)1892–1938
- Pearl ThusiSouth African actressborn 1988
- Pearl ArgyleSouth African ballet dancer and actor (1910-1947)
- Pearl van der WisselDutch handball playerborn 1984
- Liz RenayAmerican actress and dancer (1926-2007)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Pearl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Antonina
Antonina is a variant of Antonia. In Latin use, Antonia carries the interpretation “priceless and highly praiseworthy; a flourishing flower.”
>99% girls
Viola
“resembling the purplishblue flower”
>99% girls
Verna
“woman from Verona” · “from the alder-tree grove”
>99% girls
Myrtle
“of the sacred evergreen shrub”
>99% girls
Pauline
“a petite woman”
>99% girls
Iva
“of the yew tree”
>99% girls
Lillie
“resembling the lily”
>99% girls
Jewell
“one who is playful; resembling a precious gem”
21% boys · 79% girls