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Girl · Latin
Petronilla
Say it: pet-roh-NIL-uh
Meaning
From the Roman family name Petronius, of uncertain meaning; legend made Saint Petronilla a daughter of Saint Peter, which is not the origin.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Common in medieval England in vernacular forms such as Pernel and Parnell.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 57 babies given this name since 1907
- At its height in 1907, about 1 in 63,700 girls
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Petronella, Pernel, Parnell
| Italian | Petronilla |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Petronella |
| Danish | Pernille |
| French | Pétronille |
Famous bearers
- St. Petronilla, early Roman saint
- Petronilla of Aragon, queen of Aragon
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Medieval European charters and records
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.