Petronella - Meaning of Petronella

What does Petronella mean?

Pronounce
Petronella

[ 4 syll. pe-tro-nel-la, pet-rone-lla ] The baby girl name Petronella is pronounced as PehTRow-NEHL-aa- †. Petronella is used chiefly in the Dutch, English, German, and Scandinavian languages. Its origin is Latin. The name is ultimately derived from the feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Petronius. It was borne by a 1st-century martyr believed by some to be the daughter of the apostle Peter. This association has sometimes led the name to be used as a feminine equivalent of Peter. It also boosted the popularity of the name during the Middle Ages, and it was during this period that Petronella was first adopted as a given name by English speakers. The forms Pernel, Parnel were associated with prostitutes in Middle English, and they later dropped out of use by the 19th century.

In addition, Petronella is a variant of the name Petronia (German) in the Dutch, English, German, and Scandinavian languages.

Petronella has 22 variants that are used in English and other languages. Variants of Petronella used in English include Onila, Parnel, Pernel, Peronel, Peronella, Peronelle, Peternella, Petranella, Petrina, Petronel, Petronelle, Petronila, and Petronille. The short forms Pernella and Pet are other English variants.

Foreign variants include Petrisse (German), Petronela (Romanian), Petronilla (Italian), Pétronille (French), and Pietronella (Dutch). Specific foreign variants include the short forms Pernilla (Scandinavian) and Pernille (Scandinavian).

Variant forms share the origin and thus the meaning of Petronella.

See also the related form, Nela (Czech, Spanish, Frisian, German, Slavic, and Polish).

See also the related categories, martyr (death), daughter, english, latin, roman, diminutive, dutch, scandinavian, and german.

Petronella is not frequently used as a baby girl name. It is not listed in the top 1000.

Baby names that sound like Petronella include Petronela, Petronilla, Petronel, and Petronelle.

† Pronunciation for Petronella: P as in "pea (P.IY)" ; EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; T as in "tee (T.IY)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; OW as in "oak (OW.K)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)"