PemmafEnglish (Modern, Rare) Meaning unknown. A possible variant of Emma or a diminutive of Pamela, or possibly derived from the surname Pemma, of unknown meaning or origin... [more]
Pemmaf & mTibetan Comes from Pema (and Padma), Tibetan for Lotus. Lotus is a sacred flower in Buddhism (as well as Hinduism), a symbol for the way to enlightenment.
PeñafSpanish (European) Means "rock" in Spanish, taken from the Spanish titles of the Virgin Mary, La Virgen de la Peña and Nuestra Señora de la Peña, meaning "The Virgin of the Rock" and "Our Lady of the Rock" respectively.
PenamFinnish Originally a variant of Benjamin. Rare as a given name, but is often used as a pet name for Pentti.
PeñafranciafFilipino Taken from the Spanish titles of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia/Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia and La Virgen de la Peña de Francia, meaning "The Virgin of the Rock of France" and "Our Lady of the Rock of France" respectively, venerated in Naga City though originating from the image enshrined in Salamanca, Spain.
PendamHistory, Anglo-Saxon Old English name of unknown origin. Penda was a 7th-century king of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands.
PendamAfrican Penda is a shortend name of the Name Pendapala meaning "to be brave" or "be brave" in the ovomba language, indigeonous to the ovamo peolple of Namibia. ... [more]
PendafAfrican American From the Swahili verb kupenda "to love, to like, to be pleasant".
PenghuafChinese From the Chinese 朋 (péng) meaning "friend" and 花 (huā) meaning "flower".
PenhafPortuguese (Brazilian) Derived from Portuguese penha "cliff, rock", usually used in reference to the title of the Virgin Mary Nossa Senhora da Penha.
PeniafGreek Mythology Derived from Greek Πενία "deficiency; poverty", Penia was the personification of poverty and need. She married Porus at Aphrodite's birthday and was sometimes considered the mother of Eros.
PentafLiterature Possibly derived from the Greek prefix penta meaning "five". This is the name of the protagonist of the Italian fairy tale Penta of the Chopped-Off Hands (1634) by Giambattista Basile. In the story, Penta is a princess who has her hands cut off so she can escape the advances of her brother, who wants to marry her.
PentheafTheatre Feminine form of Pentheus. This was used (perhaps invented) by John Ford for a character in his tragic play 'The Broken Heart' (1633).
PenthesileafGreek Mythology In Greek mythology, Penthesilea was an Amazonian queen, daughter of Ares and Otrera, and sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe. She led her troops to the Trojan War in support of King Priamos.... [more]
PenumbrafMedieval Latin Penumbra means the partial shadow surrounding a perfect shadow (as in an eclipse)
PeolafAfrican American Used in Fannie Hurst's novel Imitation of Life (1933) and its 1934 film adaptation, where it belongs to a young light-skinned African-American woman who decides to pass as white.
PepelafGeorgian (Rare) Derived from the Georgian noun პეპელა (pepela) meaning "butterfly", which is ultimately derived from the Old Georgian noun პეპელი (pepeli) meaning "butterfly".
PerchtafGermanic Mythology Derived from the Old High German word beraht meaning "bright", this was the name of a goddess worshiped in Austria, Baveria, Baden, Swabia, Switzerland and Slovenia.
PercíliafPortuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese form of Percilia, the name of a genus of perch-like fish native to Chile. It is a diminutive of Latin perca, from Ancient Greek πέρκη (perke) "perch", cognate with περκνός (perknos) "dark-spotted".
PerelandrafLiterature The name for the planet Venus, in the novel of the same name by C.S. Lewis.
PerennafHungarian (Rare) Derived from the name of the old Roman deity of the circle or "ring" of the year, Anna Perenna. The name itself is derived from Classical Latin perennis "perennial; everlasting, perpetual" (ultimately from Latin per- “throughout” and annus “the year”).
PerissafArthurian Cycle A character in "The Faerie Queene" by Edmund Spenser who lived with her two sisters, Elissa and Medina. Her hedonism stood in contrast to the asceticism of Elissa and the temperance of Medina.
PeristerafGreek From Greek περιστέρι (peristeri) meaning "dove, pigeon," from Ancient Greek περῐστέρῐον (peristérion), the diminutive of περιστερᾱ́ (peristerā́).... [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".
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”.
PerrussiafMedieval French Recorded in French-speaking Switzerland between the 14th and 16th centuries.
PerseverandafHistory (Ecclesiastical), Spanish (Rare, Archaic) From Latin persevērāns meaning "enduring, persevering". This is the name of a Spanish 8th century saint who journeyed to Poitiers (France) to found a convent, dying of exhaustation along the way while escaping from pirates.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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).
PetraeafGreek Mythology (Latinized) Latinized form of Greek Πετραία (Petraia) meaning "of a rock" as well as "rocky" and "living among the rocks", a derivative of πέτρα (petra)... [more]
PetratishkovnafPopular Culture Full name of the character Tish from the early 2000s show The Weekenders. It was said to mean "girl with one nose", but the elements of the name could come from other names such as Petra (meaning of "stone") or Tish (from Letitia, meaning of "joy, happiness")... [more]
PetrinolafGreek A rare Greek given name, found mostly on the island Naxos of Cyclades where it probably originated. It is possibly a derivative form of the Latin name Petronilla, since Naxos and most of Cyclades were occupied, as the Duchy of Naxos, by the Republic of Venice from 1207 to 1579 A.D.
PetrosinellafLiterature South Italian dialect word meaning "little parsley" derived from Latin petrosilium, from Greek πετροσέλινον (petroselinon) "rock-selery". ... [more]
PetrovafEnglish, Literature Russian patronymic last name. Petrova is the name of one of the Fossil sisters in the book (and movie) 'Ballet Shoes' by Noel Streatfeild.
PhaedriafLiterature Variant of Phaedra used by Edmund Spenser in his epic poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590), where it belongs to a water fairy who lures knights to her enchanted island.
PhaethousafGreek Mythology, Ancient Greek Means "beaming, radiant" in Greek, being a participle of the verb φαέθω (phaethô) "to shine". In Greek mythology this was the name of a daughter of the sun god Helios by the nymph Neaira... [more]
PhaëthusafAstronomy The name of an asteroid pertaining to the Main belt in the Solar System. It is named after the mythological character Phaethousa.
PhaiafGreek Mythology Means "dusky" or "grey" in Greek, from φαιός (phaios). This is the name of the Crommyonian Sow, a mythological pig slain by Theseus. Some versions of the story say that this was the name of the old woman who owned the sow, which was named after her... [more]
PhanagorafAncient Greek (Archaic) Athenian businesswoman who owned and operated a tavern in Athens during the fifth or fourth century BCE. Her business partner was Demetrios.
Phansaf & mThai Means "rainy season, wet season" in Thai, ultimately from Sanskrit वर्षा (varṣā). This is also the name for the three-month period during the rainy season (typically from July to October) during which Buddhist monks do not leave their temples in order to devote themselves to their studies.
PhibbafAfro-American (Slavery-era) Form of Afua used by early slaves in the American South and Jamaica. This was given to girls born on Friday. It was sometimes Anglicized as Phoebe.
PhilinnafAncient Greek, Theatre Means "darling" in Greek, a term of affection derived from Greek φίλος (philos) meaning "friend, lover". A famous bearer was Philinna of Larissa in Thessaly (4th century BC), the third wife of Philip II of Macedon and mother of Philip III Arrhidaeus... [more]
PhilocleafAncient Greek (Latinized), Literature Latinized form of Greek Φιλόκλεια (Philokleia), a feminine form of Philokles. Sir Philip Sydney (1554-1586) used this name for a character, the younger sister of Pamela, in his pastoral romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.
PhilonellafLate Greek, Late Roman Variant form of Philonilla, which is the name of a saint from the first century AD. The name Philonella is also used in reference to the saint (usually in sources that ultimately take their information from Latin texts rather than Greek texts), which has led people in at least the English-speaking world to use the two names interchangeably.
PhilonillafLate Greek, Late Roman This name is best known for being the name of saint Philonilla (also found written as Philonella), who lived in the first century AD. She was born into a Jewish family in Tarsus (located in what is now Turkey), which at the time was part of the Roman Empire, but had belonged to the Greeks not that long ago and as such was still heavily influenced by the Greek language and culture... [more]