Pernilla

Pernilla is a Swedish feminine form of Petronilla, itself a Latin diminutive of Petronia, the feminine of Petronius, a Roman family name of uncertain meaning possibly connected to the Latin word for stone, petra. The name gained early Christian resonance through Saint Petronilla, venerated in medieval Europe as a daughter or spiritual disciple of the apostle Peter. Pernilla has been a consistently used name in Scandinavia and is familiar through Swedish actress Pernilla August. Related forms include Petronilla, Petronelle, and the masculine Petro.