Piper

Where Piper comes from

The dictionaries list Piper as a given name — a female given name transferred from the surname, used since the mid-twentieth century, first by the American actress Piper Laurie — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1932
    Piper Laurie born
    American actress
  2. 1951
    First appearance
    #3,284 among girls, 11 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1976
    Piper Perabo born
    American actress
  4. 2015
    Peak, #67
    4,140 babies named Piper — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2024
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #159.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, used since the mid-twentieth century, first by the American actress Piper Laurie.
Namesakes
  • Piper Laurie · American actress, 1932–2023
  • Piper Perabo · American actress, born 1976
  • Piper Curda · American actress, born 1997
  • Piper Gilles · American-Canadian ice dancer, born 1992
  • Piper Kerman · American felon and author, born 1969

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.