Given name & surname
Per
“as solid and strong as a rock”
In Swedish use, Per is a variant of Peter. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Swedish use, Per is a variant of Peter. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In Swedish use, Per is a variant of Peter. Peter has been associated with Greek, Aramaic, and Scottish Gaelic naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Scandinavian use, Per is used as a form of Peter.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1923. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Per through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 369
- 369 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1963
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2020. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,475 as a first name in 2020; 2,542 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Per’s family of names
In Danish usage, Per has a diminutive in Pelle. Per shares a linguistic root with Peter. In Danish usage, Per has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Piotr.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Per has relatives in 15 languages.
16 related names in 15 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Petervariant · Swedish, German
- Petrusvariant · Swedish, Dutch
- Peervariant · Norwegian, Danish
- Pehrvariant · Swedish
- Pæturvariant · Faroese
- Peturvariant · Faroese
- Pellediminutive · Swedish, Danish
- Pärvariant · Swedish
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 37
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Pedroequivalent
- Pierreequivalent
- PietroItalian
- Pieroequivalent
- Petarequivalent
- Petrosequivalent
- PieterDutch
- Petroequivalent
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- Petterequivalent
- PiotrPolish
- PetrCzech
- Peruequivalent
- Kepaequivalent
- Pederequivalent
- Pietequivalent
- Pjeturequivalent
- Pietariequivalent
- Pereequivalent
- Pēterisequivalent
- Peteloequivalent
- Petkoequivalent
- Petteriequivalent
- Pjetërequivalent
- Péterequivalent
- Peetuequivalent
- Petriequivalent
- Petrasequivalent
- Pirequivalent
- Պետրոսequivalent
- Pjeterequivalent
- Péturequivalent
- Peroequivalent
- 彼得Chinese
- Bieraborrowing · Northern Sami
- Perinefeminine form · Norwegian
- Peeterequivalent
- Petruequivalent
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Per
- Per MertesackerGerman association football playerborn 1984
- Per Albin HanssonSwedish politician, Prime Minister of Sweden between 1932–1936 and 1936–1946 (1885–1946)
- Per Olov EnquistSwedish writer (1934–2020)
- Per GessleSwedish musician and songwriterborn 1959
- Per Teodor CleveSwedish chemist who discovered holmium and thulium (1840-1905)
- Jimmie ÅkessonSwedish politicianborn 1979
- Per PettersonNorwegian novelistborn 1952
- DeadSwedish vocalist (1969–1991)
- Per Borten25th Prime Minister of Norway (1913–2005)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Per, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Pete
“as solid and strong as a rock”
>99% boys
Tal
“covered with the morning's dew”
85% boys · 15% girls
Greg
“watchful” · “one who is vigilant; watch-”
>99% boys
Ernie
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
>99% boys
Franz
“a man from France; one who is free” · “frenchman”
>99% boys
Jeff
“son of JEFFREY” · “the son of Jeffrey”
>99% boys
Jens
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Cornell
“refers to a horn”
>99% boys