Holding steady.
Popularity of Pairlee since 1885
Babies named Pairlee per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1911, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Pairlee's real moment was 1888.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 14 |
| 1890s | 31 |
| 1900s | 31 |
| 1910s | 65 |
| 1920s | 46 |
| 1930s | 0 |
| 1940s | 0 |
| 1950s | 0 |
| 1960s | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Pairlee is an obscure American name that first appeared in Social Security records in 1885, but it never entered the top 1000 and has almost no bearers in modern times. Its peak usage occurred in 1888, when an estimated handful of girls received the name. The name's trajectory has been stable at near-zero frequency since the early 20th century. Pairlee appears to be a respelling or variant of Pearlie, a popular suffix name from the late 1800s. Without a clear etymology, Pairlee remains a curiosity for name historians interested in forgotten regional coinages.
Pairlee appears to be an American English coinage from the late 19th century, likely a respelling of Pearlie, itself a diminutive of Pearl. Alternatively, it may have been formed from the word 'pair' plus the -lee suffix, fashionable at the time. The name saw brief use in the 1880s but never gained widespread popularity.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Lee, Pair
Variants: Pearlie, Pairley
Sibling names for Pairlee
Names that share Pairlee's style, for a brother or sister.
