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Origin, Meaning, And History of Piper
The name Piper, with its roots in English origin, was an occupational name in Britain for someone who played the flute, commonly referred to as a ‘flute player’ or ‘pipe player.’ There are speculations that it may be connected to the word ‘Peppard’ of Irish origin, which implies ‘pepper.’ Additionally, Piper is a direct translation of the German word ‘Pfeiffer,’ meaning ‘whistle’ or ‘pipe player.’ It may also have been a translation of the French surname ‘Lefifre.’
Historically, Piper made its first appearance in the novel ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ by Robert Browning. In the late 13th century, Hamelin was infested with rats, and a man promised to make the village rat-free with his piper music. His success started its popularity, and the name is still popular today.
Until the late 1990s, Piper was used as a surname. In 1998, the American fantasy and family drama television series ‘Charmed’ was released, where the second eldest sister of the Halliwell family bore the name Piper. Since then, the name has become trendy among fans.
Variations of the name have been adopted by many cultures with slight spelling differences. For example, Piper is spelled as Pfeiffer in German, Piper in English and Irish, Pijper in Dutch, and Pyper in English.
If you wish to give your little one a nickname, names like Pip, Pippa, Pips, Pippy, and Pipy may be ideal.
In the fictional world, Piper has been quite a famous name and go-to choice for writers in different films, series, and animated content. For example, the 2005 animated film ‘Robots’ had a character named Piper Pinwheeler, who was popular among fans. Most notably, a character named Piper was seen in the childhood-favorite video game ‘Paper Mario: Color Splash.’
In recent years, the American comedy-drama series ‘Orange Is the New Black’ had the main protagonist, Piper Chapman. The theme and soundtrack of the series played an important role in garnering attention towards the series and the name.
How To Pronounce Piper?
Famous People With The Name Piper
- Piper Anne Wind CampbellFormer American diplomat who was the 9th US Ambassador to Mongolia
- Piper Joy CurdaAmerican actress who led the horror film The Wretched (2020), achieving critical acclaim
- Piper DellumsAmerican public speaker and author whose story and subsequent film about a white South African girl got an Emmy Award
- Charles Vancouver PiperAmerican agriculturist and botanist, with the surname piper, who was the founding member of the American Society of Agronomy in 1907
- William Thomas Piper Sr.American airplane manufacturer, bearing the surname piper, and the founding president of the Piper Aircraft Corporation
- Heidemarie Martha Stefanyshyn-PiperFormer American NASA astronaut who ranks 39th on the all-time list of spacewalkers by duration
Piper On The Popularity Chart
With a tremendous fictional presence, Piper remains to be one of the most famous names for children. Let’s check out the graph by the Social Security Administration for more insight.
Popularity Over Time
Since 1998, the name’s popularity has increased. For instance, from 1998, the popularity rose from 159 babies per million to 4134 babies per million in 2015.
Source: Social Security AdministrationRank Over Time
Piper has been among the Top 200 names since 2008. Recently, in 2021, Piper ranked 96th. The graph below follows the growth in its rank over the years.
Source: Social Security AdministrationNames With Similar Sound As Piper
Liked the musical note to the name Piper, but want something with more history? Check the names below.
Names With Similar Meaning As Piper
Searching for names that have a similar meaning as Piper but want a more quirky name? Here are some names for you.
Name Numerology For Piper
