Pearl is a unisex

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

derived from the English word ''

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

,'' a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living, shelled

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

. Pearls are commonly used in jewelry-making. The name has a history of usage among

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Pearl is used as an

Anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

name Perle.

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

is also a common Jewish surname. Usage of the name for girls may also have been inspired by the name

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, which means "pearl". Pearl came into wider popular use in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

along with other

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

names used for girls during the late

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Symbolism

The pearl is the

birthstone A birthstone is a gemstone that represents a person's birth period, usually the month or zodiac sign. Birthstones are often worn as jewelry or a pendant necklace. History of birthstones Western custom The first-century historian Josephus bel ...

for the month of June.Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2007). ''Baby Name Bible''. St. Martin's Griffin. Pearls have been associated with

innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the op ...

and

modesty Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word ''modesty'' comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means 'keeping with ...

. Because it comes from the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

, it also has associations with the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and with

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. Pearls are also traditionally considered appropriate jewelry for

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

s and

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed. When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, ...

s. The pearl also has

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religious symbolism. In

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

's 1850 novel ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who concei ...

'', heroine Hester Prynne names her illegitimate daughter Pearl because the child is "of great price, purchased with all she had, her mother's only treasure." The passage refers to the

Parable of the Pearl The Parable of the Pearl (also called the Pearl of Great Price) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ. It appears in Matthew 13 and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven. This is the penultimate parable in Matthew ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. The Hymn of the Pearl is a passage found in the

apocryphon Apocryphon ("secret writing"), plural apocrypha, was a Greek term for a genre of Jewish and Early Christian writings that were meant to impart "secret teachings" or gnosis (knowledge) that could not be publicly taught. Jesus briefly withheld his m ...

Acts of Thomas ''Acts of Thomas'' is an early 3rd-century text, one of the New Testament apocrypha within the Acts of the Apostles subgenre. The complete versions that survive are Syriac and Greek. There are many surviving fragments of the text. Scholars d ...

. The gates to Heaven are also commonly pictured as made of pearl.

History of female usage

It was among the 50 most popular names for girls born in the United States between 1880 and 1911, remained among the top 100 most popular names for girls between 1911 and 1926 and among the top 500 most popular names for girls in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

until 1960. It was last ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls born in the United States in 1986 before it returned to the top 1,000 in 2007, when it was ranked at No. 993. It has continued to rank among the top 1,000 names for American girls through 2023. The name was the 223rd most common name for women and girls in the United States in the 1990 census. The name has also been among the top 1,000 names used for girls in the United Kingdom since 1996 and among the top 300 most used names for British girls since 2013. It was among the top one hundred names used for girls in Canada between 1920 and 1932. It has again increased in usage in Canada and ranked among the top five hundred names for newborn girls there in 2023. It was also among the top one hundred names for newborn girls in New Zealand at different times between 1900 and 1925. Authors Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz noted in their 2007 book ''The Baby Name Bible'' that Pearl is in fashion again with hipster parents in the United States.

History of male usage

The name Pearl was among the top 1,000 names given to boys in the United States between 1880 and 1939. The American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

author

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier ...

may have been given his little-used first name of Pearl in 1872 in reference to a newspaper article that described

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

dress as " pearl grey". American

strikebreaker A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the orga ...

Pearl Bergoff was given the name in the 1870s because his mother had wanted a girl.

Women

* Pearl Aday (born 1975), American singer-songwriter. *

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...

(1918–1990), American singer and actress * Pearl Berg (1909–2024), American supercentenarian *

Pearl Buck Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'', the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize ...

(1892–1973), American author and novelist * Pearl Chanda (born 1994), English actress *

Pearl Charles Pearl Charles (born May 11, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Her sound is a melding of 1960s rock and 1970s cosmic country. Education Pearl Charles earned a BFA in music from CalArts. Music Pearl Charles ...

(born 1991), American singer-songwriter * Pearl Connor-Mogotsi (1924–2005), Trinidadian-born theatrical and literary agent * Pearl Fu (born 1941), Chinese-American community leader * Pearl Hart (1871–1955), Canadian-born outlaw of the American Old West *

Pearl Jansen Pearl Gladys Jansen (sometimes spelled Janssen, born 1950 in Bonteheuwel) is a South African singer and beauty pageant titleholder who was first runner-up in the Miss World beauty contest in the UK in 1970. She was the first coloured woman to rep ...

(born 1950), South African singer and beauty pageant *

Pearl Lowe Pearl Lowe (born Pearl Samantha Davis; 7 April 1968) is an English fashion and textiles designer and former singer-songwriter. Career Music Lowe was the vocalist of mid-1990s Independent music, indie bands Powder (British band), Powder and ...

(born 1970), English fashion and textiles designer and singer-songwriter *

Pearl Mackie Pearl Mackie (born 29 May 1987) is a British actress. She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series ''Doctor Who''. Mackie is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her first major television role ca ...

(born 1987), British actress *

Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 23 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted in a few Hindi and English language films, including ' ...

(1931–2000), Indian actress, director and producer * Pearl Powell (1909–2004), Australian memoirist * Pearl Prescod (1920–1966), Tobagonian actress and singer *

Pearl Primus Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the need ...

(1919-1994), American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. * John Oliver Hobbes (pen name of Pearl Mary Teresa Richards; 1867–1906), Anglo-American novelist and dramatist * Pearl Starr (1868–1925), American pimp and businesswoman * Pearl Thrasher (1917–1972), American politician * Pearl Thusi (born 1988), South African actress, model, and presenter * Pearl Turner, American female child who has been missing since 1923 *

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at age 6, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serial film, serials. Dubbed the "Queen ...

(1889–1938), American actress

Men

* Pearl Bergoff (1875 or 1878–1947), American strikebreaker * Pearl Fryar (born 1939), American topiary artist * Pearl Fuller (1881–1908), American football player and coach * Pearl T. Haskell (1868–1919), American football coach, physician, and politician * Pearl Kapur (born 1997), Indian billionaire *

(real name Pearl Grey; 1872–1939), American author and dentist * Pearl V Puri (born 1989), Indian actor * Pearl Rardin (1886–1968), American football coach and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

service member *

Pearl Thompson Pearl Thompson (born Paul Stephen Thompson,Chris Gerrard (2021)The Cure FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Most Heartbreakingly Excellent Rock Band the World Has Ever Known. Backbeat, ISBN 9781493053988, p. 155 8 November 1957) is an Engl ...

(born 1957), English musician and artist who was born Paul Thompson * Pearl Webster (1889–1918), American baseball player * Pearl Welshimer (1873–1957), American theologian

Nickname

* Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (1964–2016), American basketball player

Stage name

* Pearl Liaison (born 1990), stage name of American drag queen Matthew Lent

Fictional characters

* Pearl (''One Piece''), a character in the ''One Piece'' manga * Pearl (''Steven Universe''), a character from the animated series ''Steven Universe'' * Pearl (''X''), fictional character in the ''X'' film series * Pearl, a flapjack octopus in the ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

'' franchise * Pearl Gesner, a character from Disney's ''

Home on the Range "Home on the Range" ( Roud No. 3599) is an American folk song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. Dr. Brewster M. Higley (also spelled Highley) of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics as the poem "My Western Hom ...

'' * Granny Pearl, an elderly green sea turtle on ''

Jim Henson's Pajanimals ''Jim Henson's Pajanimals'' (a portmanteau of the words ''pajamas'' and ''animals'') is a children's television series created by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell. The Pajanimals are characters that were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop at The Ji ...

'' * Pearl (drag queen), a competitor on season 7 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' * Pearl, a ''

Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

'' character * Pearl, the daughter of

Hester Prynne Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel ''The Scarlet Letter''. She is portrayed as a woman condemned by her Puritan neighbors for having a child out of wedlock. The character has been called "among the first and mos ...

in ''The Scarlet Letter'' by Nathaniel Hawthorne * Pearl Fey, an ''Ace Attorney'' character * Pearl Forrester, a ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' character *

Pearl Krabs Pearl Krabs is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. She is voiced by actress Lori Alan and first appeared in the season one episode " Squeaky Boots" on September 17, 1999. She was create ...

, a ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' character * Pearl the Observation Car, a ''

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

'' character * Pearl Houzuki, a character from the ''Splatoon'' franchise * Pearl Pureheart, a girl mouse in the ''

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. He is an anthropomorphic superhero mouse, originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorrow''. Th ...

'' franchise * Pearl, a character from the '' Pokémon Adventures'' manga, named after ''Pokémon Pearl Version'' * Pearl, a bunny in ''

Blue's Clues & You! ''Blue's Clues & You!'' is an interactive educational children's television series developed by Traci Paige Johnson and Angela C. Santomero for Nickelodeon. Combining live-action and animation, it is a revival of the 1996–2006 ''Blue's Clu ...

Variants

*Gyöngyi (

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

) *Helmi ( Finnish) *Pearla ( English) *Pearle ( English) *Pearlie ( English) *Pearlina ( English) *Pearline ( English) *Perla (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

), (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) *Perle ( French), ( Norwegian) *Perlette ( French) *Perley ( English) *Perly ( English) *Perlezenn (

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

) *Perlie ( English) *Perline ( French) *Perlita (

) *Πέρλα (Perla) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

)

Notes

{{given name Feminine given names English feminine given names Given names derived from gemstones