Pierina is a charming and uncommon Italian female given name that means "little rock" or "pearl." Its origin can be traced back to the Latin word "pyrus," which refers to a pearl or precious stone, combined with the diminutive suffix "-ina."
The name Pierina was popularized by the 17th-century Italian poet and librettist, Pietro Metastasio, who used it in his opera seria, "Il Tritone," written in 1698. In this work, Pierina is a nymph who falls in love with a Triton, a sea god. This literary connection has contributed to the name's enduring popularity in Italy and among speakers of Italian worldwide.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures named Pierina. One such figure is Pierina Legnani, an Italian gymnast who won multiple medals at World Championships and competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Another notable Pierina is Pierina Morosini-Casalotti, a prominent Italian socialite and patron of the arts during the late 19th century.
Despite its beautiful meaning and intriguing history, Pierina remains relatively rare outside of Italy. However, those who choose this name for their daughter are likely to bestow upon her a unique and captivating moniker that pays homage to Italian culture and literature.
Based on the statistics provided for the given name Pierina, we can observe a few interesting trends over time in the United States.
The name Pierina first appears in the birth records in the year 1907 with 6 births that year. This number remained relatively stable in the following years, with 6 births again recorded in 1910. However, there was an increase to 7 births in 1912 and 8 births in 1913.
The year 1915 saw a significant peak in Pierina's popularity with 17 births recorded that year. This high number was maintained or even exceeded in the following years: 17 births were recorded again in both 1916 and 1917, indicating that Pierina was quite popular during this period.
After this peak, the popularity of the name started to decline gradually. There were still a considerable number of births with Pierina as the given name (ranging from 8 to 13) until 1924, but it then dropped below 10 births per year from 1925 onwards.
The years between 1931 and 1948 saw very few Pierina births in the U.S., with only 5 or fewer occurrences each year. This suggests that during this time period, the name Pierina was not commonly chosen for newborn girls.
However, it appears that Pierina's popularity has experienced a recent resurgence in more recent years, with 5 births recorded in both 2013 and 2014, and another 5 births in 2017. This could indicate that the name is once again being considered as an option for new parents.
In total, over the period covered by these statistics (from 1907 to 2017), there were a total of 262 recorded births with Pierina as the given name in the United States.