PerimPortuguese (Brazilian), Tupi (?) Possibly derived from Tupi piripiri, which refers to a type of reed. This is the name of the hero of José de Alencar's novel The Guarani (1857), a fictional member of the Goitacá people of Brazil... [more]
Perif & mHebrew (Modern, Rare) Diminutive of Perach and variant of Pri. A known bearer was Franz 'Peri' Neufeld (1913-1982), a Hungarian-born Israeli footballer.
PerianfEnglish (Rare), American (South) Combination of Perry and Ann. It was brought to some public attention in 1959 by Perian Conerly, a Mississippi-born sports columnist for The New York Times and the wife of New York Giants quarterback Charlie Conerly; in late 1959, she appeared as a contestant on the American game show What's My Line?... [more]
PeriboiafGreek Mythology Derived from the Greek word περιβοάω (periboaô) meaning "to defame", composed of περι (peri) "around" and βοάω (boaô) "to shout, to proclaim" (when used of the wind and waves, "to roar" and "to howl")... [more]
Peridotf & mEnglish (Rare) Taken from the name of the gemstone, whose name is of uncertain origin and meaning. A current theory, however, derives it from Anglo-Norman pedoretés, ultimately from Greek paiderôs (via Latin paederos): pais "child" and erôs "love".... [more]
PerihanfTurkish Turkish name of Persian origin meaning "queen of the fairies" or "queen of the nymphs". The name is derived from Turkish peri (Persian pari) "fairy; nymph" and han "queen".... [more]
PerilaosmAncient Greek, Greek Mythology Derived from Greek περί (peri) meaning "around, near, surrounding" combined with Greek λαος (laos) meaning "(the) people".
PerileosmGreek Mythology Derived from Greek περί (peri) meaning "around, near, surrounding" combined with λεώς (leos) meaning "the people" (see Leos), which is the Attic Greek form of ancient Greek λαος (laos) meaning "the people"... [more]
PeriphronmGreek Mythology The first element of this name is derived from Greek περί (peri) meaning "around, near, surrounding". The second element is derived from either the Greek noun φρόνις (phronis) meaning "prudence, wisdom" or the Greek verb φρονέω (phroneo) meaning "to think" as well as "to be minded"... [more]
PeristerafGreek From Greek περιστέρι (peristeri) meaning "dove, pigeon," from Ancient Greek περῐστέρῐον (peristérion), the diminutive of περιστερᾱ́ (peristerā́).... [more]
PeriwinklefEnglish (Rare) From the English word for the color "periwinkle", from Middle English parwynke, referring to a "light blue and purple shade". It's also the name of a flower.
PerkinmMedieval English Medieval English diminutive of Peter. (The surname Perkins is derived from this medieval diminutive.) A known bearer was Perkin Warbeck (ca... [more]
PerkūnasmBaltic Mythology, Lithuanian (Rare) Derived from Proto-Indo-European *perkwunos or *perkunos, which itself is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *perkwus or *perkṷu meaning "oak tree" or "fir tree"... [more]
PernafJudeo-Italian, Judeo-Greek Derived from Greek pernas "to pass", this name was historically given to a girl with older sisters whose parents desperately hoped for a son. They "were literally praying for the curse of daughters to pass".
PerniefAmerican (South) This appears sporadically outside the U.S. Top 1000 and was found mainly in Southern States. My speculation is that it is an offshoot of Calpurnia, but I cannot verify if this is the source of the name.
PerpetuusmLate Roman Masculine form of Perpetua. The 6th-century saint Perpetuus was a bishop of Tours in France.
PerpugilliamfPopular Culture This is the full first name of Peri Brown, a companion to the Fifth and Sixth Doctors in 'Doctor Who'. The character claims that her name means "she who lives in the hills", though the accuracy of this is unknown as she does not specify the name's language or origin.
PerriafAlbanian Mythology Perria is a fairy-like mountain figure in Albanian mythology and folklore. The origin and meaning of her name are debated; theories include a derivation from Albanian përrua "brook" and a derivation from Old Albanian përruo, ultimately derived from Bulgarian порой (poroj) “torrent”.
Perrief & mEnglish (Rare) Variant of Perry and Perri. It can also be used as a diminutive of names that begin with Per- and have the 'per' sound within the name and at the ending of the name... [more]
PerritomPopular Culture Means "puppy" in Spanish. This is the name of one of the three principal characters in the American animated film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).
PerseverancefEnglish (Puritan) From the English word meaning "steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success", referring to persevering through the trials and tribulations that may come as a believer of Christ.
PershingmEnglish (American) Most likely used as a first name due to John Joseph Pershing, General of the Armies for the United States at the end of World War I. His paternal ancestors were of German descent, and the original spelling was likely Pfoersching... [more]
PersiafEnglish (Rare) From the name of the Middle Eastern country Persia, now referred to as Iran. Its name is derived from Avestan Parsa, the ancient tribal name of the people ruled by Cyrus the Great.... [more]
PersidafSerbian, Croatian, Romanian, Slovene Serbian, Croatian, and Romanian form of Persis. This was the name of the wife of Alexander Karadordevic, Prince of Serbia and ancestor to the monarchs of Yugoslavia.
Persimmonm & fEnglish (Rare) From the name of the Persimmon, a brightly colored fruit. The word persimmon is derived from Powhatan, an Algonquian language of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit".... [more]
PersinettefLiterature, Theatre "Persinette" is a 1698 French fairy-tale by novelist Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force adapted from earlier 'Petrosinella' by Giambattista Basil and later adapted by the Grimms brothers to become 'Rapunzel'... [more]
PersinnafHistory, Literature Possibly derived from Greek Περσίς (Persis) meaning "Persian woman" or περσέα (persea), the Greek name for a type of tree (species Mimusops kummel)... [more]
Perssonm & fGerman Likely from the common Swedish surname Persson and/or the word person (German: Person), which is used as a gender neutral title by some nonbinary people.
PertinaxmAncient Roman, History, Literature Derived from Latin pertinax "persistent, stubborn." This name was borne by a Roman Emperor from the 2nd century AD.... [more]
PertundafRoman Mythology Pertunda enabled sexual penetration. Pertunda is the female personification of the verb pertundere, "to penetrate", and seems to be a name for invoking a divine power specific to this function.
PesselinefMedieval Jewish, Judeo-French Diminutive of Pesse (compare Pessel) recorded in the border region between modern-day France and modern-day Germany in the 14th century.
PessimLiterature From the Finnish fairy tale Pessi and Illusia by Yrjo Kokko, published in 1944. ... [more]
PetamComanche Peta Nocona (d. 1864) was a chief of the Comanche band Noconi. He led his tribe during the extensive Indian Wars in Texas from the 1830s to 1860. He was the son of the Comanche chief Iron Jacket and father of chief Quanah Parker with Nadua... [more]
PetalafBrazilian Are constituent parts of the flower, located at its most protective whorl. They are normally membranous structures, broad, colorful and have many functions, among them the attraction of pollinators.
PetcomBulgarian (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Petko borne by Mr Petco Slabenoff, a Bulgarian passenger aboard the Titanic who died during the sinking of the ship in 1912.
PetermannmMedieval German Medieval German pet form of Peter, as the Germanic element man has been used as a suffix for pet forms of both masculine and feminine names since the 7th century AD.
PethuelmBiblical, Hebrew Apparently means "God's opening" or "persuasion of God" in Hebrew, derived from Hebrew pathah "to open, to allure, to persuade" combined with el "God". In the bible, this was the name of the father of the prophet Joel.
Petjam & fFinnish, Slovene, Bulgarian Finnish form and Bulgarian variant transcription of Petya and Slovene diminutive of Petra (used as a given name in its own right).