Pearl

I cannot find any reliable instances of Pearl being used as a woman's given name in the United States before Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" was published in 1850. All the instances of Pearl older than that are men -- the name was probably used for boys as a transfer of the English surname Pearl.

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Pearl continued to be used for boys in some families for a couple of generations after Hawthorne's novel made it popular for girls. The most well-known example is the "Western" novelist Zane Grey, whose full birth name was Pearl Zane Grey:

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https://biography.yourdictionary.com/zane-grey

In 2018, 71 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Pearl who is registered male with the Social Security Administration. It is the 8476th most common male first name for living U.S. citizens.

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[Pearl was also on the SSA's male top 1000 chart through 1939, despite it only being listed as a female name on BTN.]

In 2018, 86 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Pearl who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 812th most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.

This name has been quite often used in Australia for more than a century now. It has a particular resonance here because of the Pearl industry.

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Because of the multicultural nature of the Pearl industry, the name is almost equally used by blacks, whites and Asians. This seems appropriate as pearls come in several different colours.

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With the children's books series "Pearlie the Park Fairy" by Wendy Harmer being made into an international animated TV series, the name seems as contemporary as ever.

Seen more as a granny name than as a grandad name in the United States. While in some cases the girl's name is now due for a revival, the boy's name, having never been as popular when it was in use 100 years ago, is forever now out of fashion.