Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, who wove by day and unraveled by night while waiting for his return; the name is usually traced to the Greek penelops, a kind of "duck", or to pene, "weft" or "weaver". Actress Penélope Cruz and Kourtney Kardashian's daughter brought it back into American use. Penelope was at number 1419 in 2000, reached the top 100 in 2013 and ranks twenty-second in 2025.