ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1918 Peak Year #24 Peak Rank 159K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Pearl What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Pearl is a unisex given name derived from the English word pearl, a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living, shelled mollusk. Pearls are commonly used in jewelry-making. The name has a history of usage among Jews. Pearl is used as an Anglicization of the Yiddish name Perle. Pearl is also a common Jewish surname. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl%5F%28given%5Fname%29) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Pearl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg/330px-1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Pearl Pearl first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 569 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 4,521 Pearls were born — ranking #56 that year. As of 2026, Pearl ranks #794 for baby girls with 352 births, gradually falling (-12%). In total, more than 159K Pearls have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Pearl Phonetically similar names — useful when Pearl is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Perl](/perl) * [Purl](/purl) * [Pearle](/pearle) * [Perle](/perle) * [Pirl](/pirl) * [Burl](/burl) * Birle * [Berle](/berle) * [Birl](/birl) * [Berl](/berl) * [Burle](/burle) * Brl Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Pearl What does the name Pearl mean? Pearl is a unisex given name derived from the English word pearl, a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living, shelled mollusk. Pearls are commonly used in jewelry-making. The name has a history of usage among Jews. Pearl is used as an Anglicization of the Yiddish name Perle. Pearl is also a common Jewish surname. How popular is Pearl in 2026? In 2026, Pearl ranks #794 among girls' names in the U.S., with 352 babies given the name that year. When was Pearl most popular? Pearl reached its peak popularity in 1918, ranking #24 that year with 4,521 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Pearl most popular? Pearl has historically been most popular in Alabama, Hawaii, Vermont. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Pearl. Is Pearl a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Pearl is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Pearl? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Pearl include Jennie, Leah, Phyllis. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧JenniePeak #24](/jennie)[👧LeahPeak #24](/leah)[👧PhyllisPeak #24](/phyllis)[👧MattiePeak #25](/mattie)[👧KatherinePeak #25](/katherine)[👧ThelmaPeak #25](/thelma)[👧AndreaPeak #23](/andrea)[👧DenisePeak #23](/denise) ## About the name Pearl Pearl is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 159K births in the dataset. Pearl's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #24\. Use the chart and map above to compare Pearl's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1918 → ](/year/1918) * [ Names of the 1910s → ](/decade/1910s) * [ Names starting with "P" → ](/letter/p) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.