Meanings
- Greekhuman sciencesThe faithful wife of Odysseus.
You would be another Penelope; yet, they say, all the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca with moths.
c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii] - A female given name from Ancient Greek.
2 more examples
"She's a sort of pretend auntie - an old friend of Mummy's. Her real name's Miss Penelope Gill but we always call her Gillie." "Don't you ever let her hear you calling her Penelope!" said Mrs Lindsay, laughing. "She hates the name, though really I can't see why. I suppose it wasn't so fashionable when she was young."
1967, Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, HarperCollins, published 2014, →ISBN, page 194"What's her name?" He meant the baby's. "Penelope. We're never going to call her Penny. Penelope." - - - ""Oh. Well, it's Penelope Henderson - Porteous I guess. Or Porteous - Henderson. But maybe that's too much of a mouthful, when she's already called Penelope? We knew that we wanted Penelope. We'll have to settle it somehow."
2004, Alice Munro, Runaway:Stories, Knopf, page 93
Origin
- Ancient GreekΠηνελόπη
- EnglishPenelope
From Ancient Greek Πηνελόπη (Pēnelópē), possibly from πηνέλοψ (pēnélops, “duck”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Πηνελόπη
- Πηνελόπη (Pēnelópē)wife of Odysseus
Arabic بِينِيلُوبِي
- بِينِيلُوبِي (bīnīlōbi)female given name
Chinese Mandarin 佩涅洛佩, 潘妮洛碧
- 佩涅洛佩 (Pèinièluòpèi)wife of Odysseus
- 潘妮洛碧 (Pānníluòbì)wife of Odysseus
French Pénélope, Pénélope
- Pénélopewife of Odysseus
- Pénélopefemale given name
German Penelope
- Penelopewife of Odysseus
Greek Πηνελόπη
- Πηνελόπη (Pinelópi)wife of Odysseus
Hebrew פנלופה
- פנלופהwife of Odysseus
Italian Penelope
- Penelopewife of Odysseus
Korean 페넬로페
- 페넬로페 (Penellope)wife of Odysseus
Polish Penelopa, Penelopa
- Penelopawife of Odysseus
- Penelopafemale given name
Portuguese Penélope
- Penélopewife of Odysseus
Spanish Penélope, Penélope
- Penélopewife of Odysseus
- Penélopefemale given name
Cite this entry
Penelope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penelope
“Penelope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penelope. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Penelope,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penelope.
Source: Penelope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.