Pericles

#13,395 in 2025Boys' name

Far-famed

Pericles has been given to 86 babies in the U.S. since 1921. In 2025 it ranked #13,395 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1965, with 8 recorded.

Babies named Pericles, 2025

1 in 663,000

Pericles over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Pericles: meaning, origin, and history

Far-famed

Ancient Greek

What Pericles means

Pericles means “far-famed”, associated with Periklês.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Latin Periclēs, from Ancient Greek Περικλῆς (Periklês, “far-famed”), from περί (perí, “around”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Pericles (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Pericles is used in English. Its origins include Ancient Greek.

Pericles comes through Latin Periclēs and Ancient Greek Περικλῆς.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Pericles is pronounced /ˈpɛɹɪkliːz/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 86 boys were recorded with the name Pericles between 1921 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 8 in 1965; its best national rank was #3,181 in 1965.

How common is Pericles?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 342,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #13,395; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 459,581 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Pericles sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Pericles. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Pericless were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Pericles was born before 1973 — so the typical Pericles is around 52 today.

Median birth year: 1973; About 52 years old
Biggest decade: 1920s; 24.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 24.4%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 65; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1920s — 24.4% of all recorded uses (21).

Is Pericles rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: +340; Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 62.5%; Peak was 1965 (8)
Years since peak: 60; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Steady; 8.6% average annual change
Best rank ever: #3,181; 1965

Pericles around the world

Where Pericles ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

South Australia
1965–2001
#581
in 2001

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Pericles by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #13,395
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: New entry
Best rank ever: #3,181; 1965
Peak year: 1965; 8 that year
First recorded: 1921
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 86
Count in 2025: 5

Names similar to Pericles

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Peregrin Perrion Peregrine Peretz Perkins Akhilles Perfect Percival Perlie Pershing Percie Marcelles Nickoles Angeles Lacharles Perrie Nicoles Perris Perle Gonzales Perseus Percey Perfecto Akilles

Sibling names for Pericles

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Kandy Bettina Nichelle Danette Kris Treva Ladonna Lolita

For a brother

Berry Tod Tracey Mitch Toney Deron Rob Stacey

Explore around Pericles

Top names of 1965, Pericles's peak year The 1960s in full Other names that peaked in 1965 Boys' names starting with P