Given name & surname · also Late Latin
Petula
“an impatient woman”
Petula is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “an impatient woman.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “an impatient woman.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Late Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1965. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Petula through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 179
- 0 boys · 179 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 39 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 1977. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 39 in 1968. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 341 as a first name in 2020; a sample rank of No. 79,885 among surnames in 1990.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Petula’s family of names
Petula has a short form in Pet. Petula has a related form in Petoola. Petula has a related form in Petoula.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Petula
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Petula, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“one who is sweet and gentle”
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>99% girls