Piper

Primarily a girl's name, Piper is an English name that means someone who plays the musical pipe, flute, or bagpipes. It's trendy, sounds modern, and has an interesting meaning (perhaps several).

While its English meaning is the most commonly accepted, there are other theories about where the name Piper comes from. One is that Piper may be a variant of the Irish name Peppard, which itself comes from the Roman Latin word "piper," meaning "pepper." So, essentially, another meaning of Piper could be "pepper."

There's also a theory that Piper refers to someone who cleans pipes for a living. This would have come about when other occupational surnames (like Hunter, Mason, and Carter) first became common – mainly during the Middle Ages.

Regardless of the meaning, Piper has proven to be influential in the last two decades. The name started making an impact in 1999 when it landed on the U.S. Social Security Administration's top 1,000 names given to girls.

It quickly made it to the top 100 girl's names just over a decade after emerging on the list. Piper has hovered around the top 100 since 2012, suggesting that its appeal for parents is strong and steady.

The trend is much the same among BabyCenter parents: Piper has been around the top 100 girl's names since 2019. (BabyCenter's data comes from hundreds of thousands of parents who share their babies' names with us each year.)

Piper is a sweet and spunky name without many nicknames or variations – though the spelling Pyper is a possibility.