Peternella

The girl's name Peternella is a Middle High German form of Petronella, which is considered a diminutive form of the first name Petronius, a name that was originally common in Rome as a family name. The meaning of the name is 'the backwoods woman' or 'the little one from the Petronius family'.

What does the name Peternella mean?

Peternella is a Middle High German variation of Petronella, which is a feminine diminutive form of the name Petronius, an ancient Roman family name. The name means 'the backwoods woman' or 'the little one from the house of the Petronii'. Its roots lie in Etruscan and Latin, and the name likely derives from the Etruscan petruna or the Latin petrō/petronis, which means 'the wanderer', 'the simpleton', 'the backwoodsman', or 'the hayseed'. The name gained recognition through Saint Petronilla, who is venerated in the Catholic Church as a virgin martyr. Other variants include Petrona, Petronelia, Petronyl, Petronelle, Petronel, Petronilla, Petronela, Petronia, Pernille, Pernilla, Petronille, and Pernelle.

Where does the name Peternella come from?

The first name Peternella has its roots in Etruscan and Latin and means 'the little one from the Petronius family'. The components in Etruscan and Latin, as well as the composition of petrō or petronis, refer to terms like 'the wanderer', 'the simpleton', 'the backwoodsman', or 'the hayseed'. The name is anchored in Middle High German.

How do you pronounce Peternella?

Pe-ter-nel-la

When is the name day of Peternella?

The name day of Peternella is celebrated on May 31.

Popularity

Peternella is a rather rare first name in Germany. It has not appeared in the German name popularity lists so far. Its best ranking was in the Netherlands in 1931, where it reached 324th place in the name charts. In the last ten years, Peternella has been given as a first name about 30 times there, placing it 1,434th in the ten-year statistics. From 1930 to 2024, it ranks 1,085th in the Netherlands.

Nicknames & pet names

Nella