Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Perl isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1883. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Perl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 701
- 85 boys · 616 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 35 babies
- 2025
- 32
- #4,436 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +14%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 32 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,436 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 14.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 543 as a first name in 2020; 2,132 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.
Perl’s family of names
In Greek usage, Perl is a transliteration of Περλ.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
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 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Perl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Poppy
“resembling the red flower”
>99% girls
Palmer
“a pilgrim bearing a palm branch”
19% boys · 81% girls
Emmy
“rival”
>99% girls
Esme
“one who is esteemed”
>99% girls
Elle
“shining light” · “the shining light”
>99% girls
Evie
“a birdlike woman” · “a birdlike man”
>99% girls
Elora
“God is my light”
>99% girls
Ember
“a low-burning fire”
2% boys · 98% girls