Pippa is a feminine given name and a short form, usually of Philippa. It came into greater use as an independent name in the Anglosphere following the publication of the 1841 verse drama Pippa Passes by English poet Robert Browning with the well-known lines "God's in his heaven— / All's right with the world!" The character was an innocent Italian girl, though the name is not in common use as a given name in Italy.

Cultural connotations

The name Philippa, or Philip in its vernacular form for both men and women, was used in the British royal family in medieval times. Philippa of Hainault was an early bearer. Pip and Pippa were traditional diminutives of the name. These early associations give the name a classic image with upperclass associations in the Anglosphere. The name has sexual connotations in other cultures. Pippa is a Swedish crude slang term for sexual intercourse and an Italian slang word for masturbation. A similar sounding word in Greek, πίπα, is a crude Greek slang term for fellatio.

Usage

The name has ranked among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United Kingdom since 1996 and among the top 200 since 2012, the year after the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, at which Pippa Middleton served as her sister's maid of honor and was much photographed and her attractiveness was much commented upon.

People

Surname

Fictional characters