UK girl's name
Pearl
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning a precious gemstone.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Pearl is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Pearl popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #238, with 203 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 234 births.
This profile covers 3,516 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 87% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 3,589 living people in the UK are called Pearl. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Pearl ranked #238 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 203 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2017, when 234 girls were registered as Pearl.
- • Pearl ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #253 in 2024.
- • About 3,589 living people in the UK are estimated to have Pearl as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#238
2024
Births in 2024
203
Latest year
Peak year
2017
234 births
Estimated living
3,589
2026
Meaning
What does Pearl mean?
The name Pearl is an English word derived from the Old French word "perle", which in turn comes from the Latin word "perna" meaning a sea creature from which pearls were harvested. The name became popular in the 16th century, likely inspired by the admiration for the beauty and rarity of pearls as gemstones.
Pearls have been highly valued throughout history, and the name Pearl has been used as a metaphor for something precious and beautiful. In the Bible, pearls are mentioned as a symbol of great value in the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price from the Gospel of Matthew.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Pearl dates back to the late 16th century. Pearl Curwen was an English woman born in 1585 who was accused of witchcraft during the infamous witch trials in Pendle, Lancashire.
Another notable historical figure with the name Pearl was Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973), an American writer and novelist who was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 for her novels about life in China.
Pearl White (1889-1938) was an American actress who starred in early 20th century silent film serials and is regarded as one of the first major American film stars.
Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) was an American actress, singer, and author, best known for her performances on stage and in films, including the 1967 film "Valley of the Dolls".
Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist who played a significant role in the development of modern dance and in introducing African and Caribbean dance forms to American audiences.
Pearl Jam, formed in 1990, is an American rock band that took their name as a tribute to the Pearl Baker peyote joke from the 1976 satirical novel "Cynthia Clegg" by Obadiah Hart.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Pearl over time
The chart below shows babies named Pearl registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Pearl, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 203 births in 2024, compared with 234 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pearl by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Pearl was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #245 | 981 | 5 |
| 2010s | #279 | 1,844 | 10 |
| 2000s | #619 | 590 | 10 |
| 1990s | #863 | 101 | 4 |
Geography
Where Pearl is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Pearl. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Pearl ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #253 in 2024.
Across the UK
Pearl in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#351 in 2024
14 years of NRS records, 71 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#253 in 2024
5 years of NISRA records, 19 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Pearl
-
Pearl Mackie
actor; singer; stage actor; television actor; film actor
English actress
1987-
-
Pearl Lowe
singer; songwriter; designer; fashion designer
singer-songwriter turned fashion and textiles designer
1970-
-
Pearl Sagar
social worker
British politician
1958-
-
Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
actor; literary agent
British actress (1924-2005)
1924-2005
-
Pearl Carr
singer; film actor
British singer (1923–2020)
1921-2020
-
Pearl Hackney
actor
British actress (1916-2009)
1916-2009
-
Pearl Grobet-Secretan
politician; delegate; suffragist
Swiss suffragette
1904-1988
-
Pearl Marguerite Hyde
politician; volunteer
English leader of women's voluntary work and politician (1904-1963)
1904-1963
Related
Names similar to Pearl
- Poppy 52,802
- Phoebe 47,609
- Paige 24,717
- Penelope 13,109
- Pippa 6,346
- Polly 5,678
- Philippa 4,446
- Penny 4,394
- Paris 4,372
- Piper 3,961
- Paisley 3,419
- Primrose 2,967
FAQ
Pearl: questions and answers
How popular is the name Pearl in the UK right now?
In 2024, Pearl was ranked #238 for girls in England and Wales, with 203 births registered.
When was Pearl most popular?
The peak year on record was 2017, with 234 babies registered as Pearl in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Pearl?
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning a precious gemstone.
How many people are called Pearl in the UK?
A total of 3,516 babies have been registered as Pearl across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 71 more in Scotland and 19 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Pearl most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Pearl ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #253 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.