From Latin peregrinus, meaning traveler, wanderer, or pilgrim.
Peregrine derives from the Latin peregrinus, meaning "traveler, pilgrim, foreigner, one who journeys through foreign lands." From this root we get not only the name but also the word "pilgrim" itself (via Old French) and the peregrine falcon — so named because the bird was caught during its migration rather than taken from the nest. The name carries within it the full romantic weight of the medieval pilgrim tradition, evoking dusty roads to Canterbury and Santiago de Compostela.
Saint Peregrine Laziosi (1260–1345), patron saint of cancer patients, gave the name its most enduring hagiographic association — he was said to have been miraculously cured of bone cancer overnight, and his example made Peregrine a name of resilience and divine mercy. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien, a scholar of Old and Middle English, chose the name with characteristic care — Pippin is a wanderer, a loyal friend who travels further than any Hobbit should, perfectly embodying the name's wayfaring spirit. Peregrine has always been an aristocratic rarity in English-speaking countries, periodically favored by British families with a taste for the antique. In recent years it has attracted fresh attention from parents seeking long, sonorous names that nickname elegantly — Perry being the obvious and charming diminutive. It is a name that walks into a room with history.