Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Penney is a variant of Penelope. A possible origin is Greek, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1925. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Penney is a variant of Penelope. The history of Penelope gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Penelope is associated with the faithful wife of Odysseus.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Penney through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,951
- 0 boys · 1,951 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 113 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2018. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 113 in 1962. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,661 as a first name in 2020; 5,633 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.
Penney’s family of names
Penney has a related form in Penelope.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Penney
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Penney, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Penni
>99% girls
Pennie
Pennie is a surname.
>99% girls
Cindey
>99% girls
Penny
“duck”
>99% girls
Dede
“a brokenhearted or raging woman”
>99% girls
Deanda
Deanda is a surname from Spanish, ultimately from Basque.
>99% girls
Cyndee
>99% girls
Laima
“luck”
>99% girls