Pernille

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 16 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◐

Pernille is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name988 records spelled Pernille4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Norway, United States, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Pernillé

• Russian given name64 records spelled Pernille8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, Norway, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Pernilla, Перніла, Пернилла

37 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●

Pernille is also recorded in one other lexicon, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Variante féminine de Pierre, du latin Petrus « rocher »; fête de la Saint-Pierre.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

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●

NO SSB — Navn (1880–present) — 64 years between 1957–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Pernille Frahmb. 1954DKDanish politician
• Pernille Bech Christensenb. 1959DKDanish film editor
• Pernille Fischer Christensenb. 1969DKDanish film director
• Pernille Rose Grønkjærb. 1973DKDanish filmmaker
• Pernille Vermundb. 1975DKDanish architect and politician
• Pernille Harderb. 1977DKbadminton player
• Pernille Skipperb. 1984DKDanish politician
• Pernilla Winbergb. 1989SEnot in their usual nameSwedish ice hockey player
• Pernille Harderb. 1992DKDanish footballer
• Pernille Blumeb. 1994DKDanish swimmer

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 · 230 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Pernille?

We estimate roughly 23 thousand people bear Pernille (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Pernille have the most bearers?

We estimate about 18 thousand people bear Pernille in Denmark, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled pernille.

Where is Pernille most common?

Pernille is densest in Denmark, where the national register counts about 1 in 325 people carrying it.

How common is Pernille compared with other names?

In Denmark, Pernille is the 62nd most common given name of 31,396 given names recorded there.

Is Pernille a male or female name?

Pernille is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Pernille mean?

Recorded meaning: Danish form of Petronilla; from Peter 'rock'.