Peter Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Boy Names Like Peter

Peter Name Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: pee-ter
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Peter Name Meaning

The name “Peter” is a classic, timeless name that means “stone”.

Origins of the Name Peter

The name “Peter” comes from the Greek “Petros,” which means “rock.” It’s no coincidence that one of the most famous Peters in history is none other than Peter the Apostle, who Jesus famously dubbed the “rock” upon which He would build His church.

Popularity of the Name Peter

So why has the name “Peter” stood the test of time? One reason could be its strong association with the Christian faith, as Peter the Apostle is a prominent figure in the Bible. Additionally, the name has been borne by many notable figures throughout history, which has helped to keep it in the public consciousness.

Despite its long history and notable bearers, the name Peter is not as popular as it used to be. The name reached its peak popularity in the 1940s, but has since been on a decline. It’s still a classic, timeless name, but it’s not as common as it used to be.

Famous Peters

Of course, Peter the Apostle isn’t the only famous Peter in history. The name has been borne by kings, popes, and literary figures throughout the ages. Here are just a few examples:

Peter the Great was the Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725, and is credited with modernizing and westernizing the country.
Pope St. Peter was the first bishop of Rome and is considered by the Catholic Church to be the first pope.
Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, is a fictional character created by J.M. Barrie in the early 1900s.

Final Thoughts on the Name Peter

All in all, “Peter” is a name with a rich history and plenty of interesting stories behind it. From Peter the Apostle to Peter the Great, there are plenty of notable figures who have borne the name. While it may not be as popular as it once was, it’s still a classic, timeless name that will never go out of style.

Peter Name Popularity

How popular is the name Peter? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	578	0.1642%
1911	—	793	0.213%
1912	—	1,647	0.3266%
1913	—	1,903	0.3356%
1914	—	2,604	0.3737%
1915	—	3,291	0.3622%
1916	—	3,359	0.3477%
1917	—	3,452	0.345%
1918	—	3,698	0.3446%
1919	—	3,357	0.3206%
1920	—	3,480	0.313%
1921	—	3,530	0.3083%
1922	—	3,535	0.3173%
1923	—	3,402	0.3037%
1924	—	3,510	0.3023%
1925	—	3,369	0.2981%
1926	—	3,356	0.3051%
1927	—	3,292	0.2974%
1928	—	3,284	0.3069%
1929	—	3,201	0.309%
1930	—	3,251	0.3112%
1931	—	3,094	0.3135%
1932	—	3,112	0.315%
1933	—	3,120	0.3349%
1934	—	3,277	0.339%
1935	—	3,413	0.3512%
1936	—	3,705	0.3846%
1937	—	3,805	0.3861%
1938	—	4,289	0.419%
1939	—	4,632	0.4554%
1940	—	5,039	0.4741%
1941	—	5,605	0.498%
1942	—	6,582	0.5212%
1943	—	6,870	0.5262%
1944	—	6,341	0.5116%
1945	—	6,480	0.5313%
1946	—	7,471	0.5063%
1947	—	8,591	0.5147%
1948	—	8,050	0.5043%
1949	—	8,259	0.5134%
1950	—	8,365	0.5195%
1951	—	9,008	0.5313%
1952	—	9,590	0.5494%
1953	—	9,730	0.5498%
1954	—	10,078	0.5513%
1955	—	11,004	0.5982%
1956	—	11,318	0.5992%
1957	—	11,593	0.6025%
1958	—	10,741	0.5683%
1959	—	11,286	0.594%
1960	—	10,722	0.5659%
1961	—	10,338	0.5476%
1962	—	9,579	0.5218%
1963	—	9,622	0.536%
1964	—	9,904	0.5627%
1965	—	9,391	0.5743%
1966	—	8,578	0.5494%
1967	—	8,324	0.5485%
1968	—	8,131	0.5415%
1969	—	7,836	0.5086%
1970	—	8,052	0.506%
1971	—	7,031	0.4679%
1972	—	6,480	0.4758%
1973	—	5,918	0.4565%
1974	—	5,942	0.4572%
1975	—	5,706	0.444%
1976	—	5,447	0.4226%
1977	—	5,825	0.4321%
1978	—	5,884	0.4377%
1979	—	6,078	0.4311%
1980	—	5,967	0.4081%
1981	—	5,996	0.4079%
1982	—	5,781	0.3869%
1983	—	5,482	0.3715%
1984	—	5,634	0.3787%
1985	—	5,664	0.3732%
1986	—	5,798	0.3841%
1987	—	5,542	0.3632%
1988	—	5,422	0.3479%
1989	—	5,402	0.3348%
1990	—	5,211	0.3144%
1991	—	4,958	0.3042%
1992	—	4,590	0.2876%
1993	—	4,534	0.2908%
1994	—	4,217	0.2748%
1995	—	4,102	0.2722%
1996	—	4,072	0.272%
1997	—	3,821	0.2583%
1998	—	3,378	0.2257%
1999	—	3,430	0.229%
2000	—	3,137	0.2054%
2001	—	2,944	0.1954%
2002	—	2,853	0.1904%
2003	—	2,781	0.1828%
2004	—	2,787	0.1829%
2005	—	2,540	0.1661%
2006	—	2,464	0.1574%
2007	—	2,331	0.1477%
2008	—	2,167	0.1402%
2009	—	1,992	0.1333%
2010	—	1,914	0.1328%
2011	—	1,817	0.1275%
2012	—	1,845	0.1295%
2013	—	1,836	0.129%
2014	—	1,905	0.1308%
2015	—	1,920	0.132%
2016	—	1,898	0.1316%
2017	—	1,762	0.1262%
2018	—	1,801	0.1311%
2019	—	1,784	0.1318%
2020	—	1,677	0.1318%
2021	—	1,757	0.1437%
2022	—	1,738	0.1317%
2023	—	1,735	0.1341%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Peter

If you like Peter, you’ll love these other names like Peter.

What names are diminutives of Peter?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Peter sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Peter, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Pete	Rock	Greek

What names are variants of Peter?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Peter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Boutros	Rock	Greek
Par	Rock	Greek
Peder	Rock	Greek
Pedro	Stone	Spanish
Pekka	Rock	Greek
Per	Rock	Greek
Petar	Rock	Greek
Pete	Rock	Greek
Peterson	Rock	Greek
Petr	Rock	Greek
Petre	Rock	Greek
Petros	Rock	Greek
Petrov	Rock	Greek

Pierce	A variant form of Peter.	Greek
Piero	Rock	Spanish
Pierre	The French form of Peter, meaning “stone.”	French
Piet	Rock	Greek
Pieter	Rock	Greek
Pietro	Rock	Spanish
Piotr	Rock	Greek
Pyotr	Rock	Greek

What names sound like Peter?

If you like how Peter sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Peter.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Pedrio		Spanish
Potter	Maker of pots	English

What names are similar to Peter?

Find a name that’s like Peter, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Cephas	Rock	Hebrew
Ferris	“(A man of) iron,” from the Latin ferrum, iron.	Irish
Parkins	Rock	English
Pekelo	Rock	Polynesian
Perkin	Rock	English

Piers	Rock	Greek

Lists With Peter

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Peter.

Siblings of Peter

Mamas with kids named Peter also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Mairead	Pearl	Greek
Noah	To rest	Hebrew
Adam	Man	Hebrew
Annelise	Graced with God's bounty	Latin
Grace	Gracious one	English
Jonathan	God has given	Hebrew
Bennett	Blessed	English
Levi	Joined together	Hebrew

Share Your Thoughts

14 Comments

Peter orta Feb 27 at 12:25 pm

I was after my grandfather and uncle.
We have continued with the name Peter with my son and grandson.

Reply
Rachel Feb 25 at 12:51 pm

I wanted a biblical name and the name Peter popped in my head while at church one day. I like that the name isn’t overused and is easy to understand, spell and pronounce. I don’t like that people think of the character Peter Pan or the phrase skeeter Peter pecker eater. For a nickname we call him baby Pete or Petey.

Reply
RA Feb 18 at 9:20 am

I named my son Peter after my grandfather.
I named my daughter Belle after my childhood.

Reply
Jessika Mar 20 at 7:39 am

We chose the name Peter Kelly in memory of my husband’s two grandfathers – Pete and Kelly. Both men had a huge impact on my husband’s life as he grew up and we were so happy to have a son through whom to carry on their names.

Reply
Mary Jan 19 at 7:28 pm

We had just really liked the name Peter as it is a strong name that will not ever sound outdated.

Reply
Deniell Aadland Jul 25 at 5:37 pm

We picked Peter because it is a family name, he is the 5th Peter on his dad’s side of the family. I love the classic nature of the name, also like that Peter was the name of one of Jesus’ disciples.

Reply
Margaret Jul 12 at 10:10 am

My husband picked out name Peter, because he was a friend and follower of Jesus, and he was a genuine human with real struggles and growth. The name grew on me over the course of pregnancy. I like that Peter means Rock. May he be founded on the Rock of Jesus, and be a rock for others too.

Reply
Brytni Sep 24 at 9:51 am

My husband and I chose the name Peter for our firstborn son before we were even married… we love the apostle Peter in the Bible. We love his zeal in all things and that even though he was impetuous at times, he quickly repented and pressed on. It’s a classic name but doesn’t seem to be used much any more. I love it altogether, and there is nothing I dislike about this manly but sweet name <3

Reply
Sterling Mar 16 at 7:54 am

I chose it because it was biblical.

Reply
Mary Jul 5 at 12:36 pm

We chose Peter to go with our other son, Silas. We are planning to name all of our boys after preachers from the Bible, and we really like Peter for this little guy!

Reply
Ashley Jun 8 at 4:16 pm

It’s my husband’s first name and my mother-in-laws maiden name. We lost her before we started having children.
We have 5 daughters so we needed a solid boys name. Love that it means Rock. His middle name is Matthias which means gift from God.

Reply
Jaimie Apr 15 at 11:22 am

It’s my husband’s middle name! Also, his family has a tradition of using Bible names for all their boys, alternating New Testament/Old Testament (that wasn’t a requirement but it ended up working out that way so they, and we, just continued the pattern). It helped make our decision easier because we had less names to choose from! Plus we wanted a family connection, so going with my husband’s middle name was an easy decision.

We also like the meaning and connection to Jesus’ disciple Peter. He wasn’t a perfect person by any means, but his story is an example of how incredible God’s grace is, and how God can use us even when we have failed Him!

Reply
Teresa Apr 13 at 8:56 pm

We named our third son Peter because I love Jesus’ apostle Peter, it is another short name to go along with his two older brothers’ names (Noah and Adam), it has few nicknames, we wanted a Biblical name, and I had dreamed we should name him Peter.

Reply
Karyn Apr 13 at 11:55 am

My son is named Peter after his father and grandfather.

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