Name Awesome

Pernell

#11,656 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Pernell has been given to 3,312 babies in the U.S. since 1915. In 2025 it ranked #11,656 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1964, with 178 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 92% boys, 8% girls all-time.

Babies named Pernell, 2025

1 in 553,000

Pernell over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Pernell over time

In 2025, Pernell went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19152025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Pernell: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Pernell means

Pernell is a given name.

The naming story behind Pernell

Wikidata records Pernell as a male given name. The entity identifier is Q21745581, and the classification was checked on 2026-10-20. The spelling matches a source label or alias exactly, without removing accents or linking it to a name merely because the letters look similar.

A database classification is different from an etymological explanation, so those questions remain open in the short meaning.

A modern root explanation needs an additional naming or linguistic reference.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,037 boys were recorded with the name Pernell between 1915 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 178 in 1964; its best national rank was #593 in 1964.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #6,926 in 2020 to #11,656 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #13,526 in 2015 to #11,656 in 2025.

In the United States, 275 girls were recorded with the name Pernell between 1915 and 1972. Its highest annual count was 14 in 1933; its best national rank was #2,253 in 1933.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Pernell?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 553,000
6 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 285,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#11,656
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
382,984 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Pernell 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 382,984 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Pernell. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Pernells were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Pernell was born before 1969 — so the typical Pernell is around 56 today.

Median birth year
1969
About 56 years old
Biggest decade
1960s
31.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
9.6%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
2,626
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1960s — 31.1% of all recorded uses (945).

Is Pernell 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
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
−4,730
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,870
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.20×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
3.4%
Peak was 1964 (178)
Years since peak
61
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
34.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#593
1964

Spellings of Pernell

Pernell is not the most common spelling — Terrell is, with 30.2% against Pernell's 2.5%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Pernell is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Pernell was most concentrated in Louisiana — about 1 in 20,000 boys, against 1 in 125,077 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

05 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Louisiana1 in 20,000
  2. 2District of Columbia1 in 25,000
  3. 3Virginia1 in 25,000
  4. 4Florida1 in 50,000
  5. 5Georgia1 in 100,000
  6. 6Maryland1 in 100,000
  7. 7Mississippi1 in 100,000
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Pernell has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Pernell is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Pernell was most concentrated in South Carolina — about 1 in 33,333 girls, against 1 in 38,623 across all states with data.

33 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Carolina1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Pernell has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Pernell around the world

Where Pernell 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.

  • England & Wales
    1996–1996
    #2,863
    in 1996

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Notable people named Pernell

People whose public names include Pernell, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Pernell by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#11,656
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 4,730
Best rank ever
#593
1964
Peak year
1964
178 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,037
Count in 2025
6

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,253
1933
Peak year
1933
14 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
1972
All-time count
275
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Pernell

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

PercellPerseusWindellRondellMartellPerrinPercivalLatrellCardellRonnellJarrellCarnellLyndellMarkellKendellMarcellKordellConnellLionellDerrellJarellRoswellLavellDashiell

Names with a curve like Pernell

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Pernell, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

RaynardStoneyLorneLisaDarronAndraKraigTimmothyBrienJeffereyParrishKirt

Sibling names for Pernell

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

Explore around Pernell

Top names of 1964, Pernell's peak yearThe 1960s in fullOther names that peaked in 1964Boys' names starting with P