Here is the game we are playing:
We are going to pretend that we are naming a baby and that the name MUST start with a certain letter, and so we will need one name starting with that letter for a boy and one name starting with that letter for a girl, or else one name that would work for either, EVEN IF we don’t like any of the names that start with that letter enough to Actually In Real Life choose them. It is just a game where we place artificial restrictions on reality in order to create the kind of tension that makes games fun—like when you have to choose what foods you’d eat if you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life: the fun is in thinking it over AS IF it were a real forced decision, while KNOWING it is not. There is a baby! It MUST be given a name with a particular letter! That is the game.
After that basic concept, we can decide our own sub-rules, based on what makes the game fun and not stressful. Some examples:
• I’m not planning to play that the name has to fit with the names of my other children or with the surname, though this would be an option for anyone who would LIKE to play it that way; I think I will have more fun if I pretend it is a stand-alone baby and that the surname is not an issue, though I may change my mind as we go. (And if I narrow it down to a few options and can’t decide, I might use siblings/surname as a tie-breaker.)
• It is also fine to narrow it down to a few finalists without getting to The One Name.
• It is fine to wave aside issues such as a friend who already used that name, a famous person with the name, etc., if that makes it more fun and less stressful to choose. This is just pretend, so you can pretend that those things aren’t issues if you want to. (Or you can let the issues stand as they are in real life, if THAT is more fun.)
• We can also all make our own decisions about whether the names have to be ones we think we’d ACTUALLY USE in that hypothetical scenario, or just our FAVORITE names starting with that letter, regardless of whether we think the names are practical; I am not sure which way I will play it, and I likely won’t be consistent.
• If you already have a child with a name starting with the letter we’re working on, you get to pick again from all the names that remain; you don’t have to choose your child’s name as your favorite just because it WAS your favorite: this is a FRESH baby, and you wouldn’t give it the same name as your existing child. (If you would normally prefer not to repeat an initial within a sibling group, you can just pretend that’s NOT a preference for the sake of the game.)
• You can do as much or as little explanation as you like in your comment: you can just list the names you chose, or you can explain your process/preferences/reasoning/runners-up, or whatever is most fun.
Today’s letter is P. This one is challenging for me for girls because I have a lot of names starting with P on my list already. Penelope, which was a strong contender if Henry had been a girl, and I still love it. Persephone, which I probably won’t choose because I would flinch every time someone said “Persuh…fone?”—but I like it so much, and I think Persie/Percy is such a great nickname. Philomena and Philippa, with good nickname potential. Polly, which I probably won’t choose because I would like it better as a nickname, I think. Pearl, which I would love to see become more common. For this round, I’m going to play it as what I think I would actually literally choose, and I choose Penelope, and I might try to get Polly to happen as a nickname for it, even though I tend to be conservative/disapproving about such practices in general but what are rules without exceptions—perhaps by using Polliwog as a Fetus Name, or perhaps by brazening it out.
For a boy, I used to love the name Paul, but then I ruined it by using it as a blog name for my husband. I still love the name and want other people to use it for their babies. I like Percy and I love Perry. I like Philip. Penn is cute, and Paul is a Penn and Teller fan so I’m pretty sure I could sell him on it. I love Pete, but I would only want to use it as a nickname for Peter, and I don’t like the name Peter as much (I have this same issue with Charlie/Charles). Here’s what I think would actually happen: I would try to sell Paul on the name Perry, but he wouldn’t go for it; he would want to use Penn, and I wouldn’t be able to quite commit; we would end up using Paul (which is several times a family name, increasing its appeal), and I would choose a different blog pseudonym for my husband, traumatizing everyone briefly but we would recover. But my HEART wants the name Perry, so I am going to defiantly choose it here. PERRY.
Now you! If you want to! Only if it’s fun and not stressful! Feel free to adjust the game-play to be fun and not stressful!
For a girl I like Patricia and Penelope but I wouldn’t use Penelope in my current location, since I’m aware of all the bullying she will receive with “pene” meaning penis in Spanish.
For a boy I like Paolo and Patrick, Patrick not at a sibset with Patricia.
So picking just one it would be Patricia and Paolo.
For a girl, I’ve recently been in love with Pilar, don’t know yet whether it’s a mature enough love that I could actually use it and be happy with it (provided my location and language weren’t an issue). But since I’m not sure about Pilar, I’m intensely thinking of Poppy. Poppy on its own feels a bit too little so I think I’d choose Penelope, and then may call her Poppy, or Nellie. I’d probably end up calling her Nellie more often, that’s just my gut feeling for some reason, but Poppy could be for some special occasions. :D
For a boy I kind of like Philip, but I prefer it with an F, Philip with a Ph feels more dated, but then in turn Filip is incredibly popular and overlooked here. Another P name I kind of like and could probably live with happily is Peter. And as this is a classic and safe option at least in the English-speaking world, I think I’ll go with it. Pete is an endearing nickname and I could use it sometimes too.
For a boy, definitely Patrick or Preston. I like that Preston doesn’t have any obvious nicknames, and I don’t love Pat as a nickname for Patrick.
For a girl, I love the name Parker. I’m increasingly aware of the advantage men have in this world, and I do love a more androgynous first name for a girl. (A female friend Preston has gotten to MANY A JOB INTERVIEW where they were shocked to see a woman. Maybe it didn’t matter, but I’m sure it probably did.) My Nana’s favorite sister’s name is Peggy, and she is a delightful woman, and I would love to name a tiny baby Peggy. It’s just dated enough to be adorable. For more modern options, I love Piper, Phoebe, and Poppy.
As a sib set, I’d probably go Patrick/Parker.
I know a little Patrick whose nickname is Patch. I love it!
It seems I like quite a few P names. Who would have guessed?
For a girl, I love the names Piper, Poppy, Penelope, and Payton. I’m not sure what I would use as a nickname for Penelope though and it seems like it needs a nickname. I think my favorite is Piper.
For a boy, I like Porter and Perry. I think I would choose Porter.
I wish that I had named my youngest Perpetua and called her either that or Pippa. I got shamed out of it as too weird but I think it would have been great. Felicity and Perpetua are great saints with good stories of toughness through pregnancy and motherhood. For a boy I like Padraic, and I’d call him that or Paddy. Or paddy-cake!
My drag name is Perpetua Motion, and most of my drag friends call me Pepper for short.
I LOVE Patrick. It’s my youngest’s middle name, and I’d use it again as a first name, no question. I can’t quite explain my lifelong love for this name.
For a girl, definitely Pippa. Maybe Philomena. Hmmm…
I think it’s Patrick and Pippa for me.
I have a Philomena we call Pippa – best of both worlds! Doesn’t make much sense but I’ve found that people don’t care one bit if the nickname isn’t super connected to the formal name. Or at least they keep their comments to themselves if they do :)
I, too, love Pearl! I would absolutely name a daughter Pearl. I also love the name Phaedra but I probably wouldn’t end up using it (I think I love looking at the name more than the sound of it). For a boy, Pasquale is a family name on my partner’s side and I like it a lot, although his family has used Pat for a nickname and I would definitely not want to use that nickname. Anyone care to share any input on great nickname for Pasquale? Runner-up for a boy name would be Paul, such a beautiful, solid name.
Cal? I like Pascal with the nickname Cal, and the sounds are there in Pasquale, too.
Cal is a great idea! Thanks for that.
My vote would be to embrace Pasquale and not nickname it! I once met a (nice, cute) guy who introduced himself to me as Pat, but I later found out his full name was Pasquale, and he immediately became about 20% more attractive to me! :)
I hear you. I do love the full name, but we are a family of nicknamers so I’d want to be prepared for the inevitable :)
TL:DR– Pearl and Percy
There are so many girl P names that I love on others (Phillippa, Penelope, Paulina) but that I am not terribly fond of for myself, because the joys in these names are in their nicknames for me, and I just don’t like nicknames.
I have been watching Steven Universe recently, and love the character and the name Pearl, which is a non-nicknamey name. I will go for Pearl.
For boys, I am less excited. I moderately like Perry, Phillip, and Phineas, and have a passing interest in Phoenix, but I think I would go with Percy.
Also I love this game. It is such a good distraction for this exact moment.
oh crivens yes
I could name half a dozen girls with P names but no P boy names stand out to me.
For a girl, Penelope is irresistible. I like the nickname Penny. I also adore Pilar. My daughter’s preschool class had twin girls named Pilar and Inés. The pair made me swoon. However, I would be nervous that English speakers would butcher the name. I, like many of my friends growing up, had a grandma Pat. It seemed like such a fusty name growing up, but now a little Patricia with the nickname Pat is adorable to me. I also like its pronunciation in Spanish. I think I’d land on Patricia nn Pat.
For boys, I like Pax, Patrick and Parks (after Rosa) but all as middle names. I suppose I’d pick the classic Patrick. So Patrick and Patricia…
Peter for a boy and less enthusiastically, Pippa for a girl.
P: Pippa and Peter
Q: Quinn and Quill
R: Rosalie and Roan
S: Susanna and Simon
T: Tessa and Thaddeus
U: Umbria and Urban
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Wren and West
X: Xymeria and Xavier
Y: Ysabel and Yarrow
Z: Zelie and Zebulon
My husband wanted Poppy when we were naming our youngest. I really liked it, too, but only as a nickname and I didn’t love any full name options for it. But for this game I’m picking Poppy.
For boys, I just don’t know. Maybe Peter or Pavel or Peregrine. I don’t love any of them, but for the game I guess I’ll pick Pavel.
I loooove Peregrine.
Paloma for a girl. Also like Polly & Paulina.
The only (ONLY) P names I like and would consider using are Petra and Peter, but one can’t very well have both. Hmm.
For a girl, I’m deciding between Philippa (nn Pippa) and Pearl. Realistically, I think Pearl suits my style more, so I’d probably go with that. (Side note: my grandma had siblings named Earl, Pearl, and Myrle. I guess they liked the sound! And actually, her name was Erma, so hers had that -er sound too.)
For a boy, I think I like Percy best.
Obviously, I couldn’t use Pearl and Percy for siblings, though (too much -per sound), so hopefully i only have one imaginary P-named baby to name. :)
we are P name twins!
Perry for a boy and Pippa for a girl, although Patrick is a close second for a boy.
Hmmm.. .. I need to think about this one a bit.
For girls, I do like Prudence, Penelope, and Phoebe. I think I would go with Prudence to get the nickname Pru.
For boys, I like Paxton for the meaning but it sounds harsh. I think I would go with Phineas.
Ooh P is another abundant letter (for many I see!) Patrick is my hubby’s middle name, Peter my grandfather-in-law and P1ppa is my niece. When my youngest was a baby we met a Paloma at a baby group and that made me swoon.
Patrick would be tempting for a honour for my husband, but he has no attachment to it nor does it honour anyone. So I’ll go with Pierce / Piers for a boy.
For girls I’m also in love with Pearl. My prenatal instructor had a Pearl (and we did a class for both pregnancies) so I always felt a bit like I would be borrowing the name. But now, Pearl for sure. It goes well with my kids names. We considered Polly and Phoebe. Penny I’ve always LOVED but we have two friends with Penny dogs. Perry is lovely for a girl and I’d love to meet a Prairie!
I’m surprised at how many P names I’m thinking of that I like!
Polly, Piper, Parker, Peyton, Pippa, Poppy.
I also LOVE Phoebe, and just named a puppy that, so for the game, I’ll go with my #2 P name for girls – Penelope nicknamed Poppy.
For boys, there’s the unisex Peyton and Parker mentioned above. I do very much like Padraig but only pronounced “PA-drig” and it is WAY outside my comfortability level with name confusion. So that leaves my 2 favorites. Phillip is a life-long favorite, but I’m playing the game today that Ph = “F-sound” names don’t count. So I’m going with Porter. I adore the name Porter and it is on my regret I won’t get to use it list (which is actually a fairly long list for boys )
Final answer: Penelope (nn Poppy) and Porter
Philippa and Paolo:)
Peter and Petra (or Philomena).
Boy: Pace
Girl: Poppy
Portia for a girl and Philip for a boy (despite the guy I knew in high school)
I had a baby last week and we went to the hospital undecided between Phoebe and June. Right after she was born we still struggled to decide. We confided in the nurse that we were leaning towards Phoebe and she said, “Oh, like the Friends character?”
That was EXACTLY the reaction we were hoping to avoid, so June she is! (It’s perfect for her.)
Polly was my grandma’s name (nn for Mary) and I love it, but my cousin has used it for her daughter (as a stand-alone name).
I love June! It was on my own lists, too!
We got tons of that back before we knew our son’s bio sex and told people we’d use Phoebe if a girl and Kerry if a boy. As a result, it was a hard veto from me when we actually had our daughter.
Hmmm..
I would want to use Poppy for a female assigned at birth. I might use Penelope and then Poppy as a nickname? She could then have Penelope, Poppy, Penny, Polly, Ellie, etc as possible nicknames. Yes. I would do that.
I WOULD use Perry but a former family member (yeppp) has that name, so it would NEVER work in real life. I love it though, so I choose it for this game.
I am surprised by how many P names I love!
For girls, I have always love Penelope and Portia. Penelope has so many great nickname options — Pen, Penny, Poppy, Nell, Pepper! Recently, I met a woman named Pelagia, which I thought was such a beautiful and unusual name I can’t stop thinking about it! I love Paget (because of Paget Brewster) and Perry (Peri Gilpin!!!!) and Percy and Petra and Phoebe. Plum is one of my favorite words, and I often think wistfully about whether it would work as a name. Poem is a similar word that I think is lovely as a name.
For boys, I like Philip and Paul and Porter and Perry and Percy and Patrick and Palmer and Pollock and Penn.
For a real baby, I think I would go with Penelope and Penn. Or if there were TWO babies to name, I would choose Penelope and Philip.
My 3 favorite girls names start with P, and since they all have different starting sounds I think I would have really used them all: Philippa, Priscilla, and Psalm. For this exercise I will choose Priscilla.
For a boy, hands down Philip with Pip as the fetus/infant nn.
Girl: Phoebe. I’ve loved that name for over 35 years.
Boy: hmm, that’s more difficult. I like a number of P-names ok, but none that I love. Perry and Peter and Parker are probably the top 3.
Paige was one of my favorite names as a child, but my sister beat me to it and named her daughter Paige so that’s out of the running.
I just have to add – funny coincidence but a coworker JUST told me her toddler’s BFF is Pixel! That’s actually adorable and made my day.
Paul is a family name and my actual 1st choice boy name. Paulina is a top choice for a girl, nicknamed Lina. But what if they were twins and had to have P names?! Er…pick one Paul/ina, don’t chose Petra/Peter even though they’re lovely because that gets too apostolic, consider the family implications of Phillip/Philippa and run away, then….crap, my girl runnerup was Pearl but I can’t very well have Paul and Pearl. So… Paul and Phoebe, or Paulina and Peregrine.
P: Paulina or Paul
Q: Quartz and Quentin
R: Rosa and Raphael
S: Sylvie and Samuel
T: Theodora and Timothy
U: Una and Ulysses
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Willa and Walter
X: Xenia and Xavier
Y: Yvaine and Yves
Z: Zinnia and Zachary
As a Paola I would say I’ve lived my whole life introducing myself as Paula because how it’s intended to be said is absolutely butchered (at least in North America). Perhaps if I lived somewhere with a large Latin community that would be different. Paolo seems easier for people even though there is only a letter difference. A while back though I saw Hasan Minaj on a talk show and he said people can learn to pronounce all sorts of things so at 39 I’m finally saying screw it and if you can’t pronounce it oh well!
My younger son is named Patrick and it was a hard sell from my husband – he’s Irish so I thought of how over there he’d be called Paddy which I don’t like. I also couldn’t help but think of the old SNL skit about Pat. So basically I don’t like the nicknames. After a week born with no name I finally agreed. I don’t necessarily regret the name but I wish we could’ve found something I was 100% on board with.
Anyways… in this game I would pick Poe for a boy (Star Wars really made me think it’s great for a first name) and either Paloma or Petra for a girl :)
For a boy, I’ve started thinking more fondly of Peter. It’s never been at the top of my list, but it definitely fits within my style of “classic, long roots, Catholic schoolboy” names. :) And lately it’s been appealing to me more and more. A little Pete would be so cute! I also like Philip, but it’s the name of my first cousin, and while we have a good relationship, it’s not quite “name my son after you” good!
For a girl, I’m torn. Philomena appeals to me because it’s a saint name (and comes with the nice nickname Mena/Mina), but it’s a Lot Of Name and might be too unusual for me. I’ve also liked Phoebe ever since reading Louisa May Alcott’s Rose in Bloom, but I worry that the “Friends” association in most people’s minds would be too strong. Though Phoebe is actually one of my favorite “Friends” characters! And I love the movie “Penelope” with Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, as well as the character Penny on “Happy Endings,” but I don’t think I actually like the name Penelope aside from those associations. In the end, I think I’d pick Phoebe — assuming I was married and had taken my husband’s surname. It would be a disastrous near-rhyme with my current surname!
Polly is my pick but I’m in the same boat of wanting it more as a nn. My first thought was Pearl, nn Polly. But I think I’m going to stretch the boundaries of the game and name her Mary Margaret but exclusively call her Polly. Mary Margaret (as a double-barreled nn was my dream girl name but since I didn’t get to use it IRL I will play fast and loose with it for our game purposes).
Patrick nn Paddy is my boy pick. Love!
We used Peter as a middle name for a son, but I love Phillip. Never Phil, only Phillip.
For a girl, Prisca and Petra are the 2 I love, though Polly and Poppy and Pippa are adorable nicknames, I’m just not drawn to the full names. And wouldn’t use them as full names.
So I choose Phillip and Petra.
Patrick has always been one of my favorite names (and the name of my first friend as a kid). I don’t like Pat or Paddy, but I’d still go with Patrick.
I like Paloma and Pearl and Phoebe. I don’t have any Latinx/Spanish heritage, so I don’t know if I would use Paloma. Let’s go with Pearl.
P: Patrick, Pearl
Q: Quill, Quiara
R: Ramona, Raphael, River
S: Simone, Sylvan, Sage
T: Talia, Theodore
U: Uma, Uriah
V: Vanessa, Vaughn
W: Wednesday, Wade
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yvonne, Yonatan, Yael
Z: Zora, Zayn
How could I have forgotten that my first born’s name starts with P? Pumpkin :) I kept his shelter name.
Both my favorites I actually fell in love with from books I read as a kid. Peter and Phoebe. Can’t remember where I got Peter from. Phoebe is a minor character in Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I also like Paul (a family name) and Penelope.
my oldest is named Peter and people thought it was so unusual at the time (he is 34). it’s still a favorite so I would choose Peter and Pippa or Pearl.
I think this is going to be the hardest letter for me. There are absolutely no girl names starting with “p” on my list, and only two rejected ones on my boy list. Pierce was rejected for my son for being only one syllable. My mother was really pushing Perry, which is a family name, but she doesn’t like all of the people in the family with Perry in their name, plus it feels like it should be a nickname to me. So I didn’t go for it, though I did put Perun and Peregrine with the nickname Perry on the list for a little while. The only “p” name for a boy that I really love is Phineas, but it was never on the list because I prefer two other names beginning with the letter “f” to get to the nickname Finn.
So what to choose? I can’t decide if names that actually have an “f” sound feel like cheating or not. I was always annoyed that most of the characters with “p” names on “Charmed” had the usual “p” sound, but one sister was Phoebe with an “f” sound. However, it’s not like there is some more accepted or legitimate spelling of Phoebe that starts with “f.” I guess I will choose one name with each sound. For a boy, I choose
Phineas for the “f” sound and Peregrine for the “p” sound.
For a girl, there are several names I like on other people’s children, including Philippa nicknamed Pippa, Phyllida, Persephone, Paloma, Peridot, Paulina, and Petra.
But if I personally had to give a girl a “p” name, I would consider Padme for the meaning and reject it for the Star Wars connection. Like so many people are saying about Phoebe from “Friends,” it’s a good association, but I wouldn’t want to keep hearing it. I would also consider and probably reject Portia (for the meaning), Polyhymnia called Polly, and Pomona. The name I really want to choose with a “p” sound is Priyanka called Priya, but maybe I would need a father with the right background to use it. Pomona (unless I move to California) and Portia can be the backups.
For the “f” sound, I would consider my Greek great-grandmother’s name Photeini/Fotini (stress on the final syllable) and probably reject it for being too difficult to pronounce and spell and for not loving any of the Greek nicknames for it. The winner would be Phaedra in spite of the association with the real housewife because something has to win, and I really do like it.
My favorites here are definitely the “f” sounds Phineas and Phaedra rather than the names with “p” sounds that I chose.
Here is a true story: I really really like the name Pearl, but I married a Pearl Jam super fan so there is just no way in hell we could use it. Not even for a middle name. I fear all those around us would snicker constantly.
(Anyway we are not having children so it doesn’t matter but we can’t even use it for a pet, and I would loooove a kitty named Pearl.)
In lieu of Pearl, I think I would choose Pippa, and I adore the nickname Pip too.
As for boys, I’m very meh on P names. I tend to pivot to Italian names when pressed, so maybe Pietro or Piero. Peppe? Maybe.
(I have an Italian last name so Italian names are appealing to me.)
It’d be fun to name a black cat Pearl :)
Polly and Patrick
I might stretch Polly out to the more formal sounding Pollyanne (not Pollyanna). I always liked Polly a lot, but not with our surname P@lmer. ( I named one of our daughters Julianne since I preferred a longer form for Julie. Her middle name is Patricia.)
Patrick would only be called Patrick.
Phaedra or Petra for a girl. Phaedra is one of my all time favourite names but I recently discovered I pronounce it differently to most people which has thrown me (I say Feedra, apparently it’s Faydra). I know I could use it with my pronunciation but it would bug me every time someone said it ‘wrong’. I still love it though so as this is a game I’m going to pick it. In real life Petra is one we are considering for our current bump and I love that too.
For a boy Peregrine or Pascal. Before I was pregnant with our first we were both set on the name Peregrine for a boy (nickname Penn) but once we were actually expecting we decided we weren’t brave enough. It still makes my heart sing. I adore Pascal but it’s been strongly vetoed.
Phaedra/Petra and Peregrine/Pascal
Penelope (contenders were Phoebe, Philippa and Pearl) and Phineas (Philip, Perry and Peregrine also considered)
Boy: Paladin. I fell in love with this name before I knew what a paladin was. In my Baby Name Game Land, he’s the brother of Valkyrie. It works for me. :p
Honorable mention: Pellinor
Girl: Persephone
Honorable mention: Pandora
Either/or: Phoenix
Lord of the Rings award! (Peregrin son of Paladin, Pelennor Fields)
XD
Bonus round: When I was in elementary school I named one of our kittens Precious. There might be a theme….
Penelope for a girl, although I would tempted by Phoebe.
I’m not sure about a boy’s name. I like Patrick, and it would be an honor name for my mother, but I don’t actually like the idea of honor names, so that would make me less likely to use it. I guess Philip, if I could avoid Phil as a nickname?
I’ve always liked the name Paloma! And for a boy—Pearce/Pierce. It’s my grandfather’s middle name AND the last name of my favorite basketball player. Win-win.
For a boy Paul, Patrick, Phillip? I’m not sure.
For a girl Penelope or Phoebe.
Okay, I’m going to make myself decide: Patrick and Phoebe
Patrick called Patch or Trick is cute. Parker is nice too.
Paloma is not usually my style but it is very beautiful.
Pip for either gender is a cute nickname.
Girl: Phoebe. I really like Pernilla, nicknamed Peri/Perri, but I don’t think I would be bold enough to actually name a daughter Pernilla.
Boy: Phillip
I used to have a Swedish landlady called Pernilla! She carried it very well.
Perdita for a girl, if we can all get past 101 Dalmations (can we?). Peregrin nn Perry for a boy because growing up I loved MM Kaye’s The Ordinary Princess.
My son’s name is Peter and I LOVE it, it is my one true name- PETE. Sweetie pie, Petey pie. For a girl, PIP.
P was harder than I thought it would be! Lots I like, but not sure if I’d actually choose them. For girls, I like a lot of what’s already been mentioned, like Paige, Piper, Pippa, Polly, Posey…a few feel like nickname names where I’m not jazzed about the full name. Two I like a lot that I didn’t see mentioned we’re Padget and Pia.
For boys, I also liked some repeats, like Pete/Peter and Phillip (but not Phil). I also like how preppy Prescott sounds. I’ve also always liked Patrick, but not Pay, but th suggestion of Patch as a nickname is a game changer for that! One boy name for P I don’t understand NOT being popular is Parson. Again…Parson! It follows the surname name trend, the -son name trend, the clergy name trend (with the likes of Deacon and Bishop), never in the top 1,000, but easy to say/spell? I don’t understand why this isn’t a hit!
Final choices, Pia for a girl and Parson for a boy!
Keeping tabs like others, like seeing them all together!
P – (f) Pia, (m) Parson
Q – (f) Quincy, (m) Quaid
R – (f) Ramona, (m) Roger
S – (f) Susanna, (m) Sullivan
T – (f) Thora, (m) Tatum
U – (f) Uma, (m) Umber
V – (f) Virginia, (m) Vaughn
W – (f) Whitney, (m) Wade
X – (f) Xaida, (m) Xander
Y – (f) Yardley, (m) York
Z – (f) Zoe, (m) Zachary
P.. for boys: Peter, Parks, Patrick. For girls: Petra, Penny, Poppy, Pearl, Pippa, Paige.
My husband’s name is Patrick (we already have a child with a variant), my dog’s name is Peter, Parks is a family name. If I had a boy tomorrow and had to choose a P name- I’d pick Parks.
For girls- it’s a toss up between Penny, Petra and Paige. I’ve always thought I don’t have the right heritage for the name Petra and I’m a reading teacher so Paige may be a bit too on the nose. So I’m going with Penny.
So happy to finally be at the letter P! Some of my absolute favourite names start with a P. For a girl, hubby and I both love Poppy and Piper. I think he would pick Piper but I’m going to go with Poppy. I think. For a boy I also love Perry but dont think I could actually use it so instead I’ll go with Parker.
Pearl & Peter
As always, I find the girls names so much easier! I would go Pearl (ignoring the fact that we could never use it in real life because it’s too close to my last name).
For boys… hmmm. I think Patrick. Which we probably, again, wouldn’t use IRL because it’s too Irish for our random mix of heritage, but I like it, it’s a solid handsome name and I like Paddy for short.
This is a fun game. Finally, a place to put my favorite foreign names
I love the look of Portia, I quite like her Shakespeare character, but nope.
My favorite is Pippa, although Philippa not so much. Maybe I’d break my rules and just go with the nn.
For a boy, Paolo. I love the roundness of it. I think Paola is lovely, too. Pascal scores highly, too.
P: Pippa, Paolo
Q: Quinn, Quentin
R: Rhiannon, Rodrigo
S: Serafina, Simon
T: Tessa, Thomas
U: Uma, Uruk (although I was checking my spelling on a name site and their “new suggestions” included Ufuk, which made my inner preteen giggle)
V: Veda, Valentin
W: Willow, William
X: Xan, Xavier
Y: Yara, Yuske
Z: Zelda, Zebediah
I have thought about P a lot because both of my kids’ grandmothers have P names. In fact, we already had agreed on a P name for my youngest son and daughter but backed out last minute both times. Hugh and Muriel could have been Perry and Pascale.
I still want to play though! So I’ll go ahead and choose 2 more, but I don’t think my husband would agree.
For a girl, I like Patience and Promise but I think the words come up too much in conversation. I have been liking Paulina and Patricia. I prefer Patricia, it is pretty in full and I like Patti too, but we have a friend with the masculine version of the name who always “jokes” about naming a kid after him, so I don’t think I could do it.
I don’t think there are any feminine named that I like more than Pascale after all considerations. We would call her Calla sometimes.
For a boy, I really have to think. I am not feeling Paul or Peter or Patrick. My husband would probably go for Porter, but I wouldn’t. I would go for Penn or Peregine or Pascal, but my husband wouldn’t. I like Preston and Pierce, but not for my family. If I were a celebrity, I might do Pacificus. I like Pax too, but it feel trendy. OK, Pax it is because I want to choose something other than Perry.
Pascale and Pax (or Perry)!
I was struggling with this one, but then I remember Primrose. I love it even more as I’m writing it.
Boys, I don’t know. Parker after Charlie Parker? I don’t love it.
Primrose and Parker.
Went to Positano for our honeymoon so that would be my dear name – nn Posi. Love!
For boys…maybe Percy?
Girl name, not dear name!
Pippa for a girl.
Paxton for a boy.
This game is so fun!!
I feel like the odd one out where I’m not finding many names I love. several I like but nothing that really stands out or “feels like my child.”
Penelope and Pascal
That said, I think I’m ready for other people to bring Phyllis back in style.
Phyllis simultaneously reminds me of a word for male genitalia and Phyllis Schlafly. I can’t imagine this one make a comeback, but who knows.
Penelope and Pascal
Quilla* and Quincy
Rachel and Reuben
Sarah nn Sadie and Simon
Tamsin and Thomas
Ursula and Uriah
Vivian and Vincent
Willa and Wallace
Xinnia and Xavier
Yvonne and Yarden
Zavia and Zoran
*have changed my mind on a previous choice
I saw Pehr (pronounced like “pear”) for a little girl once and I love it’s unpexpected soft, quirkiness.
For a boy, Prem. It means “love” – and I love that.
I should note that Pehr is traditionally a boys name. I’m not usually one for “stealing from the boys,” but for some reason I like this one and am going to let it slide.
Penelope and Peter.
I like quite a few P names enough to use in real life. For boys, Peter is my top favorite, then Pascal, Pavel (family name), and Peregrine.
For girls, Pascale, Penny, and Poppy are really sweet.
For either gender, Perry, Paz, Penn, and Pip as a cute nickname. I’d love Perry on a girl or as a nickname for Peter on a boy (not that Peter needs a nickname).
Patrick or Penn, Polly or Posy. Can’t choose!
For a girl, Pearl. Boys are harder, I’m torn between Percival and Peregrine.
Paloma and Patrick!
Second place Pear and Peter!
Uh, Pearl. Not Pear.
Peregrine and Philomena. Oh, but I had a hard time deciding between Philomena, Petal, Perpetua, and Poppy.
When I first started thinking about P names there weren’t any that I liked. But after reading this post and the comments, several of them are growing on me. My choices are Penelope and Parker.
Persephone (possible nn Perry) & Phineas (nn Finn/Phin)
Phoebe for a girl; Perry for a boy
I actually used, and love, Philippa (she’s called Pippa).
I have always loved Phyllida, but could not get there for an actual baby. And my aunt Peggy was really Panagiota ( pronounced roughlyPan-a-YO-ta) which is wonderful but too much.
Hmm, so for a boy, maybe I’d better not pick Phillip. Pehr, then. I met one years ago and it suited him, and it sounds soft and tall to me.
Phyllida and Pehr. I do like those!
What a fun game (coming here late from the other blog)!
Polly was the in-utero name for our younger child. My husband advocated for naming her Hippolyta (my great-grandfather’s name was Hippolyte, which sounds much better in Swiss-French) and nicknaming her Polly. But then we switched gears completely (Joni Marie, after my mother).
The name Petya was also on our list for her. It’s a Bulgarian name, and my husband and I met in Bulgaria as Peace Corps Volunteers.
I like Parker, Peter (my son’s middle name), and Pascal for boys, but I think I’d choose the Bulgarian version of Paul: Pavel.
Final choice: Petya and Peter (although not if they were twins)
Hmm I think Phoebe for a girl although I love Phaedra and Petra as well. For a boy, either Peregrine or Phillip, both called Pip(pin)
P: Phoebe and Peregrine
Q: Quinn and Quentin
R: Rowena and Ransom
S: Sylvia/Savannah and Simeon
T: Tara and Thomas
U: Una and Uther
V: Vivienne/Vera and Vincent/ Vale
W: Willa and Wallace
X: Xena and Xavier
Y: Yael and Yves
Z: Zella and Zion
I have a Penelope and still love it! I would choose it or Piper for a girl.
My boy choices are boring and standard, Patrick or Philip after a close friend.
I love Paloma, but am not sure i could use it as my husband and I are of German/French ancestry and Paloma feels a bit like cultural appropriation. I also like Philomena, and I think I would use that. I’d call her Minnie or Mena for short and I like that a lot. So, Philomena.
For a boy I have always liked the name Paul. It’s not ideal with my one syllable last name, but if I had to use a P name it would be my favorite option.
I love so many girl names – Philippa, Penelope, Persephone. But I think I would land on Prudence – probably because of Charmed, but I feel like it has just the right mix of spunk and old-fashionedness.
I like Philip and Patrick as boys names and don’t like any nickname possibilities, but I suppose I could BECOME a person who insists on not allowing nicknames for my children … in which case, Philip.
Probably Philippa (Pippa) and Peter, for Peter Pan.
Philip and Pearl!
Piper and Penn
I love reading everyone’s P choices. You all have good taste.
Priscilla was my favorite P girl name for a long time, but when I was reading about it just now, I wasn’t as enthused. Maybe if I could come up with a good nickname to give her more options. I did see on a baby name blog this week the idea for the name Promise, which tickles me. It sounds like Primrose, but stronger, less delicate-first-flower-of-spring. You could even make your daughter a promise at birth, kind of like people write their kids into their wedding vows. The other P virtue name I really love is Patience. I think on short notice, I’d choose Patience.
For a boy, I’d pick Pascal. I like the Blaise Pascal connection and the allusion to Easter.
P: Patience and Pascal
Q: Quinn and Quinn
R: Rebecca and Rocco
S: Susanna and Solomon
T: Theresa and Theodore
U: Ursula and Ulrich
V: Victoria and Victor
W: Winifred and William
X: Xandra and Xavier
Y: Yvette and Yakob
Z: Zelie and Zechariah
So many good P names that I really do not love the nicknames for: Philip/Phillip, Peter, Patrick. Would I risk the possibility of Phil?
For girls, I like Penny, Paloma and Page/Paige (though this does feel date-stamped to my own generation), but I think I like Philippa most.
OK, Peter and Philippa.