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$Title{Names for Girls:  P}
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Editors of Consumer Guide
Harder, Kelsey}
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The Ultimate Baby Name Book


Names for Girls:  P


Page, Paige        Greek "child."  This name became increasingly
                   popular in the 1980s.  Originally, it referred to a
                   knight's attendant at court.

Paloma             Spanish "little dove."
     Famous name:  Paloma Picasso (jewelry designer)

Pam                Form of Pamela.
     Famous name:  Pam Dawber (actress)

Pamela             Possibly Greek pam-meli, "dear, loved one" or "all
                   honey."  In the eighteenth century, Samuel Richardson's
                   novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded boosted the popularity of
                   this name, which probably dates to at least the sixteenth
                   century when Philip Sidney used the name in his novel
                   Arcadia.  The name was enormously popular in the 1950s.
                   Actress Victoria Principal played the character Pamela
                   Ewing, the wife of Bobby Ewing, on the television soap
                   opera Dallas.
    Famous names:  Pamela Mason (actress)
                   Pamela Tiffin (actress)
                   Pamela Zoline (writer)
       Nicknames:  Pam, Pammie, Pammy
      Variations:  Pamelina, Pamella

Pamelina (see Pamela)

Pamella (see Pamela)

Pammie, Pammy (see Pamela)

Pan (see Pandora)

Pandora            Greek "all gifted" from pan [all, universal] + dorus
                   [gift].  In Greek mythology, Pandora was the equivalent of
                   the curious cat.  She was warned not to open a box given to
                   her husband by the gods, but she couldn't resist.  All the
                   troubles of the world escaped when she opened it, although
                   she managed to shut the lid in time to retain the virtue
                   hope.
      Variations:  Dora, Pan, Pandoura

Pandoura (see Pandora)

Pansy              French pensee, "a thought."  This "flower" name, which
                   has the negative connotation of wimp, is rarely chosen by
                   new parents today.

Paola (see Paula)

Paoletta (see Paula)

Paolina (see Paula)

Pat (see Patricia)

Pateizia (see Patricia)

Patience           Latin "patience."  Like Charity and Hope, this is a
                   "virtue" name, which was popular in Puritan times.  Sir
                   Thomas Carew, the speaker of the British House of Commons
                   in the seventeenth century, named his four daughters
                   Patience, Temperance, Silence, and Prudence.

Patrice (see Patricia)

Patricia           Feminine form of Patrick, Latin "member of the
                   nobility."  Although this name lacks the history of equally
                   popular names, such as Margaret and Mary, it has been a
                   well-known name for at least 300 years and continues to be
                   popular today.
    Famous names:  Patricia Neal (actress)
                   Patricia Wettig (actress)
       Nicknames:  Pat, Patsy, Pattie, Patty, Tricia, Trish, Trisha
      Variations:  Pateizia (Italian), Patrice (French), Patrizia (Italian)

Patrizia (see Patricia)

Patsy              Variation of Patricia.
     Famous name:  Patsy Kline (singer)

Patti              Form of Patricia.
     Famous name:  Patti LuPone (actress)

Pattie, Patty (see Patricia)

Paula              Feminine form of Paul, Greek "small."
    Famous names:  Paula Prentiss (actress)
                   Paula Reingold (poet)
       Nicknames:  Pauly, Polly
      Variations:  Paola (Italian), Paoletta (Italian), Paolina (Italian),
                   Paule (French), Paulette (French), Paulina, Pauline
                   (French), Paulita, Pavla (Russian)

Paule (see Paula)

Paulette           Variation of Paula.
     Famous name:  Paulette Goddard (actress)

Paulina            Variation of Paula.
     Famous name:  Paulina Porizkova (model)

Pauline            Variation of Paula.
     Famous name:  Pauline Kael (movie critic)

Paulita (see Paula)

Pauly (see Paula)

Pavla (see Paula)

Pearl              Latin perna, "sea mussel"; Middle English perle, "pearl."
                   This may be the most-popular "jewel" name.
    Famous names:  Pearl Bailey (singer)
                   Pearl S. Buck (writer)
      Variations:  Pearla, Pearle, Pearline, Perla, Perri, Perry

Pearla (see Pearl)

Pearle (see Pearl)

Pearline (see Pearl)

Peg                Form of Margaret.
     Famous name:  Peg Bracken (writer)

Peggie (see Margaret, Peggy)

Peggy              Form of Margaret.
    Famous names:  Peggy Ashcroft (actress)
                   Peggy Fleming (figure skater)
  Other spelling:  Peggie

Pen (see Penelope)

Penelopa (see Penelope)

Penelope           Greek "weaver."  In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope was the
                   wife of Odysseus, or Ulysses.  As a wealthy woman, she was
                   pursued by a horde of suitors after Odysseus went off to
                   the Trojan War, where he was believed to have been killed.
                   To keep her suitors at bay, she promised to wed after she
                   finished weaving a tapestry.  To prevent the project from
                   ever being completed, Penelope unraveled all her work of
                   the day each night.  Her husband finally returned from his
                   travels after 20 years.
    Famous names:  Penelope Gilliatt (writer)
                   Penelope Spheeris (movie director)
                   Penelope Wilton (actress)
       Nicknames:  Pen, Penny
      Variations:  Fenella (Irish), Penelopa, Penina, Penine

Penina (see Penelope)

Penine (see Penelope)

Penny              Variation of Penelope.  Harry Haenigsen's comic-strip
                   heroine Penny attempted to illuminate the problems of
                   teenagers growing up in the middle of the twentieth
                   century.
     Famous name:  Penny Marshall (movie director)

Pepita (see Josephine)

Perla (see Pearl)

Perri              Variation of Pearl.
     Famous name:  Perri Klass (writer)
  Other spelling:  Perry

Perry (see Pearl, Perri)

Petula             Latin "saucy, bouncy."  In the 1960s, Richard Lester used
                   this name for the title character of a high-energy comedy
                   movie about life and love in California.  Julie Christie
                   was the star of the movie; the score featured the music of
                   the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
     Famous name:  Petula Clark (singer)
       Variation:  Petulia

Petulia (see Petula)

Phaedra, Phaidra   Greek "bright one."  In Greek mythology, Phaidra, or
                   Phaedra, was the wife of Theseus.  She fell in love with
                   her stepson and great tragedy resulted.  Euripides used the
                   story for his famous play.

Phanessa (see Vanessa)

Phebe (see Phoebe)

Phelisiana (see Felica)

Philippa           Feminine form of Philip, Greek "lover of horses."
                   Philippa of Hainault was the wife of Edward III of England.
      Variations:  Felipa (Spanish), Filippa (Italian), Philippine (German)

Philippine         Variation of Philippa.
     Famous name:  Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (actress)

Philis, Phillis (see Phyllis)

Phoebe             Greek phoibe, "the bright one."  Like Artemis, Diana, and
                   Cynthia, Phoebe is another name associated with the moon.
                   In Greek mythology, she was the daughter of Hyperion and
                   Theia, and the twin of Phoebus, or Apollo.  Phoebe was once
                   a very popular Christian name, although it is unusual
                   today.
    Famous names:  Phoebe Mills (gymnast)
                   Phoebe Snow (singer)
      Variations:  Phebe

Phylicia           Variation of Felicia or Phyllis.
     Famous name:  Phylicia Rashad (actress)

Phylida (see Phyllis)

Phylis (see Phyllis)

Phyllis            Greek phullis, "green, leafy."  Phyllis, the daughter of
                   the King of Thrace, is the mythological source of the
                   almond tree, or philla.  She committed suicide after her
                   lover did not return to her, and a tree grew over her
                   grave.  When he finally returned, the tree bloomed.  The
                   name has been continuously popular in England and was used
                   in many minor novels and poems.
    Famous names:  Phyllis Diller (comedienne)
                   Phyllis Rose (writer)
                   Phyllis Whitney (novelist)
 Other spellings:  Philis, Phillis, Phylis, Phyllys
      Variations:  Filide (Italian), Phylicia, Phylida

Phyllys (see Phyllis)

Pier               French feminine form of Peter, Greek "rock."
     Famous name:  Pier Angeli (actress)

Pikka (see Bridget)

Piper              Old English "pipe player."
     Famous name:  Piper Laurie (actress)

Piroska (see Priscilla)

Poll (see Mary)

Polly              Variation of Mary or Paula.  "Polly Put the Kettle On" is
                   an enduring children's song.
    Famous names:  Polly Bergen (actress)
                   Polly Draper (actress)

Pollyanna          Combination of Polly and Anne.  The heroine of
                   Eleanor Porter's novel Pollyanna was the epitome of
                   naivete.  Today, the name is ascribed to anyone who is
                   foolishly naive.

Portia             Latin family name Porcius "pig farmers."  In Shakespeare's
                   The Merchant of Venice, Portia saves Antonio's life by
                   cleverly outwitting Shylock.

Pris (see Priscilla)

Priscilla          Latin Priscus, "ancient," a family name.  In literature,
                   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized the name in "The
                   Courtship of Miles Standish."
     Famous name:  Priscilla Presley (actress)
       Nicknames:  Cilia, Pris, Prissie
       Variation:  Piroska (Hungarian)

Prissie (see Priscilla)

Pru (see Prudence)

Prudence           Latin prudentia, "foresight, intelligence."  Like other
                   "virtue" names, Prudence was popular with the Puritans.
       Nicknames:  Pru, Prudy, Prue

Prudy (see Prudence)

Prue (see Prudence)

Psyche             Greek "soul."  In Greek mythology, Eros, the son of the
                   goddess of love, Aphrodite, fell in love with a mortal
                   woman named Psyche.  Aphrodite did not approve of the
                   match, but after several failed attempts to end the
                   relationship, she capitulated because Eros had found his
                   true love.