Penny is the short form of Penelope, the Greek name of Odysseus's faithful wife, which is of uncertain meaning and usually explained from pene, "weft" or "thread", the cloth she wove and unwove while she waited. For most Americans the word is also simply the one-cent coin, which gives the name its cheerful, lucky feel. Penny was popular in the 1950s and 1960s, returned to the US top 1000 in 2013 and ranks number 740 in 2025 after a best of number 676 in 2023.