Celebrity Name Synergy: Pippa Meets Penelope
The buzziest new celebrity this year might be new Duchess Kate Middleton. She actually prefers Catherine Middleton, but we can't help it-- her nickname has stuck! While Kate has no doubt become an international sweetheart, her nickname is unlikely to move up in popularity as much as she did. As our own Name Lady put it last month, "The name Kate is simply too strong, too clean, and too classic for any celebrity to take ownership of it...even a princess."
But there is one Middleton nickname that we do predict will become a hit: Pippa, the nickname of Kate's younger sister Philippa, who received serious attention at Kate's wedding for her beauty and style. Pippa is a fun and bouncy nickname for such a formal and serious full name, and though Philippa is currently #525 in Scotland, this kind of formality is often seen as too severe for American parents and has never made it into the top 1000 names in the US.
May we suggest a nickname switch?
The name Penelope is quickly on the rise, starting totally off the US charts in the 1990s and climbing to #358 where it sits today. The nickname for Penelope is traditionally Penny, but this nickname is often seen as outdated, peaking in the 1960s and dropping out in the 1980s. We think Pippa would make a great nickname for Penelope, and it solves two name problems: if you love Penelope but not the nickname Penny, or you love the nickname Pippa but not the full name Philippa, just take a little from column A and a little from column B. Think Penelope Cruz meets Pippa Middleton.
Do you think Pippa works as a nickname for Penelope? Have you heard this nickname-name combo before? Do you even think Penelope needs a new nickname, or are you good with Penny?
--M.F.
Comments
I rather like Poppy for Penelope as well.
In the US, you might get away with Pippa for Penelope, because few people know the name Philippa. In England, I think people would be confused. Over there, the nn for Penelope is often just Pen. You might even get away with Nell, if you just can't stand Penny. (I'm a Penelope, nn Penny, so I'm biased of course.)
Then again, if a nickname comes into popular use, it might stick. Some nicknames range pretty far from their roots: I never really saw how they got Peggy from Margaret, for example.
I've always loved the nickname Nell or Nellie for Penelope but I love Pippa too!
I'm rather fond of Penny for Penelope - which I love - but I also like Nell. I think Pippa would work, but it's all Philippa to me.
I like Pippa for Penelope!
Seriously??
Penelope could also be Pen or Pena or Nellie or Nell or Lolo or Lola...there are so many ways to go you don't have to commandeer Pippa for nickname purposes. And there's nothing wrong with Penny.
By itself, Penelope is a pretty fresh and spunky name, and I doubt the parents using it/seriously considering it would consider Poppa a viable nn as Philippa is probably also a name that resonates for them.
I have a client with just this problem, and this was one of my solutions. Funny, I was working on it today too.
Pippa does not make sense as a nickname for Penelope to me. I see it as either a stand alone name or a nickname for Philippa. I know a little girl named Penelope who goes by Penny. I don't see it as outdated at all.
Why bother subjecting them to nicknames? Pippa and Penny make great names on their own.
I like Philippa, and it's interesting that it's never even cracked the top 1000 in the U.S. Is it at all possible that the brief publicity for Pippa Middleton will cause there to be a spike on this name and make it trendy/dated? It would have to be *dramatic* for it to ever reach Isabella type heights, but such is the fear of those looking for a name that won't be the next Aidan!
I love the nickname Penny, and I don't really get Pippa as a nn for Penelope, so I'm all for sticking to the norm and not mixing A and B...
The only Penelope I know goes by Lopi.
Pippa sounds too much like Pippi Longstocking to me - at the age of five this may be cute but later on it might be difficult to get rid of the nickname.
Pippa is just her nickname and I think it's cute as a nickname, but a bit too cutesy for a full name for my taste
Nope - doesn't work for this Aussie either. It's like trying to say - let's make "Jenny" the nn for "Joanna", or "Kate" for "Caroline" or "Karen".
I went to school with plenty of Pippas. Many of them became lawyers/engineers/teachers/doctors - so it is not a name that is too cutesy. Not all of them reverted to Philippa as adults either.
I doubt you would choose the name Penelope if you didn't like "Penny". If it really was an issue - choose a different name, but leave Pipp to the Philippas!
I like Pep or Nelly as a nickname for Penelope best.
We have a Piper and use Pippa as her nickname (partly because we wanted a Pippi Longstocking-vibe when we named her).
I have a Penelope who will never ever be a Penny. I can't stand the nn Penny. I'm aiming for no nicknames at all (she's 2.5 y.o. and so far so good) but always thought I could live with Poppy as a nn. I like Pippa even better, will keep that in mind. Great suggestion!
My 2-year-old daughter is Penelope and we call her Penny. One of the reasons we chose Penelope was because we liked Penny as a nickname better than the nicknames available for some of the other names we were considering. Around the house, she gets called Penny, Pen, Pen-Pen, Nelope, Penelephant, or whatever else comes to mind, but I would have never considered Pippa. But now I might add Pippa to my list of names to consider for Penny's little-sister-to-be. I like it as a stand-alone name.
Penny is hideous.
Pippa is adorable but hard to picture a grown woman. It's very childlike.
Penelope is very cute but not sexy or strong.
I like Penelope most and would do Ella as a nickname.
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