Meaning & origin
What it means
Penrose goes back to Cornish penn, meaning “head.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Penrose through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 33
- 21 boys · 12 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 6 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 6 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,588 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.
Penrose’s family of names
In English usage, Penrose as a surname has a related form in BEMROSE.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Penrose, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Murray
“the lord of the sea”
86% boys · 14% girls
Llewellyn
“resembling a lion”
68% boys · 32% girls
Merlin
Merlin is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
82% boys · 18% girls
Pennix
Pennix is a surname from Cornish.
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Penix
Penix is a surname, probably from Cornish.
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Pentreath
“headland”
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Penberthy
Penberthy is a surname from Cornish.
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Pendarvis
“head” · “oakwood”
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