Penelope

Penelope is a Greek name whose origin is uncertain; it has been linked with pene, meaning threads or a weft, and with penelops, a kind of duck. In Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus who waits twenty years for his return. To hold off the suitors who crowd her palace, she promises to choose one when she finishes weaving a shroud, then secretly unravels her work each night. The connection with weaving gave rise to the meaning weaver. Penny is the usual English short form.