Porter

Porter: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“gatekeeper or carrier”
Origin
English
Say it
POR-ter · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys (96% of all uses)

From an English occupational surname for a doorkeeper or porter, from Old French portier and ultimately Latin porta, 'gate.' It later became a given name.

How popular is Porter?

2024161 per million US babies
1880192019602000
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.

Babies named Porter in 2024537

2024 rank#615 boys

Peak year2015

Total US babies since 188021,198

Porter has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Porter

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • JackGod is gracious · English
  • Hudsonson of Hudd · English
  • Jacksonson of Jack · English
  • Cartercart driver · English
  • Wyattbrave in war · English
  • Maverickindependent person · English
  • Masonstoneworker · English
  • Graysonson of the steward · English

Porter questions

What does the name Porter mean?

Porter means "gatekeeper or carrier". It comes from English. From an English occupational surname for a doorkeeper or porter, from Old French portier and ultimately Latin porta, 'gate.' It later became a given name.

Is Porter a boy or girl name?

Porter is mainly a boy's name in US records (96% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Porter?

537 US babies were named Porter in 2024. Its peak year was 2015.

How do you pronounce Porter?

Porter is usually pronounced POR-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.