Peter

Peter: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “rock; stone”
Origin: Greek
Say it: PEE-ter · 2 syllables
Used for: Boys

From Greek Petros, the name given in the New Testament to the apostle Simon. It has been widely used across Christian Europe for centuries.

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How popular is Peter?

2024568 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Peter in 20241,889

2024 rank#192 boys

Peak year1957

Total US babies since 1880589,576

Peter is steady now but far below its 1957 peak.

Names like Peter

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Pedrorock; stone · Spanish
Piercerock · English
Pierrerock; stone · French
Petrarock, stone · Greek
Piersonson of Piers · English
Peterock, stone · Greek
Theodoregift of God · Greek
Sebastianfrom Sebaste · Greek

Peter questions

What does the name Peter mean?

Peter means "rock; stone". It comes from Greek. From Greek Petros, the name given in the New Testament to the apostle Simon. It has been widely used across Christian Europe for centuries.

Is Peter a boy or girl name?

Peter is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Peter?

1,889 US babies were named Peter in 2024. Its peak year was 1957.

How do you pronounce Peter?

Peter is usually pronounced PEE-ter.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.