Pen

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Peng in US United States, CN China, TW Taiwan and 15 more, Peñ in EC Ecuador, PE Peru, CL Chile and 1 more, Пен in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, UA Ukraine and เป็น in TH Thailand.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Pen is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Thai given name1.3K records spelled Pen96 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan

  Also written เพ็ญ, เปิ้ล, เพ็ญณี, เพลัย, 'เพ็ญ

• a separate name724 records spelled Pen4 spellings in the group

  Also written Peñ, Peṅ, Pėn

• a separate surname151 records spelled Pen11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Jamaica, India, Brazil

  Also written Peñ, Péñ, Peň, Pẹn, Pên

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Pen is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Akan, 1. distinctly; pae asem nom' ka kyere no pen! - 2, at once; dua uom' abu pen ; 3. s. red, pehpeh 1, gyirase ye pen pen, nipenna, 1.2. wofwe or wobobo .. 1. 3. ntama a ani ye nk. o-pene, 3. contentment. 1 11.6,6. — mpihkyireu (xe). *pensere [Eng.] pencil, style. — *pentekoste [Gr.] Pentecost

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Akan, t?. topuU(at), to draw, drag, tear; to squeeze, pinch, twinge, ttceak, twitch; s^w.twS; titi; open m^aso, me nsa, m'anah, atade, nta- ma, kyew, hama, adaka ; wgkopen no de no baa guam', they fetched him and pulled him along (dragged him) into the assembly. — p. ma, to tighten, straiten, strain, stretch; cf. dwom; opp, gow

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In kr, into ink. :;) I sow or plant, by letting the seed fall from between the

  as a word·Kanuri-English Vocabulary (in African Native Literature)

• In Akan, [obsol.] the upper part of the chest about the collar-bone

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

FR INSEE — Fichier des noms de famille (1891–2000) — 11 years between 1891–1991. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Albert Penb. 1931FRFrench politician (1931–2003)
• Adolf Penb. 1944SISlovenian painter
• Catherine Penb. 1954FRFrench politician
• Guido Penb. 1960NLDutch football player
• Peter Penb. 1973SIOlympic alpine skier
• Jeroen Penb. 1987NLDutch journalist and novelist
• Elaine Penb. 1990NLDutch equestrian
• Marta Penb. 1993PTPortuguese female middle-distance runner
• Maks PenSIresearcher

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 53 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Pen?

We estimate roughly 41 thousand people bear Pen (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Pen have the most bearers?

Pen is most frequently recorded in China, where it is most often spelled peng.

Where is Pen most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Pen is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 1.1 thousand people — even though China holds more of our records for it.

How common is Pen compared with other names?

In China, Pen is the 601st most common surname of 134,008 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Pen mean?

Recorded meaning: Short form of Penelope, and sometimes also of Peninnah.