Practically Perfect 'P' Baby Names For Your Precious New Addition

The peak of pregnancy is primetime for baby-name pickin’, and we’re pretty sure you’ve previously paraded out plenty of prizewinners well before this point — but was the perfect “P” name a part of that process? Perhaps. Perhaps you ogled our “O” names last week and opted out. Maybe your proclivity for the “M” monikers and “N” names published prior petered out, and presently you’re positive that a baby name beginning with “P” is precisely the perfect pick for the pea in your pod.

You’re in a propitious place, then, because personally I prefer “P” names to plenty other prospects. Why, pray tell? “P” is multipurpose! It has pizzaz and panache. “P” can be playful or placid, personable and passionate, poignant and proud. If your preference is proven paragons, pick Peter, Paul, or Pamela. Prefer something more peculiar? Pim, Pine, and Pax pack a punch. Either way, baby names beginning with “P” leave plenty prime picks for your precious, perfect new human.

Traditional “P” names for girls

Penelope (worthy of an Odyssey)

Paula (means “little” but she won’t be for long)

Priscilla (Queen of the Desert or just queen of the nursery)

Patricia (a “noble” newborn for sure)

Pamela (did you know writer Sir Philip Sidney invented this name in the 1600s?)

Pauline / Paulina (if Paula was too straightforward)

Pearl (gemstone names are all the rage)

Polly (she’ll love the resurgence of Polly Pocket happening these days)

Phoebe (the Greek moon goddess, means “the shining one”)

Paola (Paula’s snazzy Latin version)

Philippa (or Pippa for short!)

Trendy “P” names for girls

Penny (Penny Lane is a legit forever theme song)

Poppy (a cute floral name — but also a kid-favorite Trolls character)

Pepper (if florals are too cutesy, try a veg!)

Princess (speaking of cutesy)

Primrose (can’t argue with Rose as a nickname)

Pia (short and sweet is the new elegant)

Pippa (a nickname for Philippa or just grand on its own)

Petra (who wouldn’t want to name their kid after an amazing archaeological city in Jordan?)

Paloma (means “dove,” how peaceful)

Persephone (doesn’t get more badass than the wife of Hades)

Philomena (means “greatly loved” — Mena is a cute nickname too)

Unisex “P” names

Page (or the more traditionally feminine spelling, Paige)

Pim (a Dutch name meaning “protection”)

Parker (Parker Posey proves this one’s an all-gender win)

Peyton (means “from the fighter’s farm” which should definitely be the new name of your house)

Paris (if it’s good enough for Michael Jackson…)

Poe (will their first words will be “quoth the raven”?)

Pax (a name meaning “peace” is what we all need right now)

Presley (because a kid named Elvis is a little dramatic)

Phoenix (they’ll be ready to rise from the 2020 ashes)

Pine (trees make great any-gender nature names)

Piper (Pied, or Perabo? Take your pick)

Traditional “P” names for boys

Peter (a true classic meaning “rock or stone”)

Paul (another Biblical standby)

Perceval (means “pierces” — or you can always go with simply Pierce)

Patrick (means “noble” or “aristocrat”)

Petro (or Petros, both variants of Peter)

Pablo (Picasso is a namesake for the ages)

Pierre (Peter’s flaneur cousin en français)

Percy (kiddo will love having the same name as a Thomas the Tank Engine character)

Paco (means “free”)

Trendy “P” names for boys

Preston (none other than Britney Spears picked this one for her son)

Pip (a Dickensian hero for our times)

Porter (means “gatekeeper”…of the toy bin, naturally)

Prince (another one good enough for MJ)

Princeton (decidedly not as obnoxious as naming him “Harvard”)

Pierce (or Piers, if you prefer Morgan over Brosnan)

Pembroke (a Welsh name meaning “lives in the headland”)

Phineas (Phineas & Ferb has earned this one a resurgence)

Price / Pryce (another Welsh one, “son of Rhys”)

For more baby names by the letter, check out our Alpha Babies series here.

Or get some inspiration from our favorite weird celebrity baby names.

Launch Gallery: The Best Baby Names for Every Zodiac Sign

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