Definition of "Pearl"

Pearl

proper noun
countable and uncountable, plural Pearls
1. A female given name from English
  Quotations
  Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother's only treasure!
  1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Chapter VI”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields
  "What was your name?""Pearl." Ruby and Pearl, mother and daughter. "It's an ugly name, isn't it?""No, it isn't". And I meant it, it wasn't. "Old-fashioned, perhaps, but nice."She stared at me. "Do you know what pearls are? They're ugliness: dirt or sand gets in an oyster and the oyster coats it over so that it won't be irritating."
  1992, Karen Kijewski, Kat's Cradle, page 7
2. A surname.
3. A placename
  1. Ellipsis of Pearl River.: various Pearl Rivers across the world.
    Particularly, the river in Guangdong, China, the major river of Canton Province in the People's Republic of China.
  2. Ellipsis of Pearl Harbor.: A harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, United States, in the Pacific