Given name & surname
Petar
“as solid and strong as a rock”
Petar is a variant of Peter. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Petar 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
Petar is a variant of Peter. Peter has been associated with Greek, Aramaic, and Scottish Gaelic naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1963. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Petar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 641
- 641 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 21 babies
- 2025
- 14
- #6,354 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 14 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,354 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 8.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 21 in 2006. In 2025, Illinois had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,641 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Petar’s family of names
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Petar has an affectionate form in PERO. Petar has a related form in Peter. In Croatian usage, Petar has a conventional equivalent in the German form Peter.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Petar has relatives in 7 languages.
7 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 38
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Pedroequivalent
- Pierreequivalent
- PietroItalian
- Pieroequivalent
- Petrosequivalent
- Pieterequivalent
- Peerequivalent
- Petterequivalent
Show 30 moreShow fewer
- PiotrPolish
- PetrCzech
- Peruequivalent
- Kepaequivalent
- Petrusequivalent
- Pederequivalent
- Perequivalent
- Petroequivalent
- Peteloequivalent
- Pjetërequivalent
- Péterequivalent
- Peetuequivalent
- Petriequivalent
- Petrasequivalent
- Պետրոսequivalent
- Pjeterequivalent
- Pehrequivalent
- Péturequivalent
- Peeterequivalent
- Petruequivalent
- Петърequivalent
- Pietequivalent
- Pjeturequivalent
- Pietariequivalent
- Pereequivalent
- Pēterisequivalent
- Petkoequivalent
- Petteriequivalent
- Pètarhas masculine form
- Πέτροςsource · Ancient Greek
People named Petar
- Peter II of Yugoslavialast King of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1945 (1923-1970)
- Peter I of SerbiaSerbian noble (1844–1921); King of Serbia from 1903 to 1918
- Petar II Petrović-NjegošPrince-Bishop of Montenegro1813–1851
- Petar StoyanovBulgarian politician and jurist (born 1952)
- Petar Mladenovformer General Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party (1936–2000)
- Petar ZhekovBulgarian footballer (1944–2023)
- Petar SučićCroatian footballer (born 2003)
- Petar KočićBosnian Serb writer (1877-1916)
- Petar MusaCroatian footballerborn 1998
Characters named Petar: Petyr Baelish (A Song of Ice and Fire).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Petar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Edoardo
“a wealthy protector”
>99% boys
Jezreel
“The Lord provides”
76% boys · 24% girls
Emrah
“one who is brotherly”
83% boys · 17% girls
Rishab
“one who is musically talented”
>99% boys
Yaasir
>99% boys
Naser
“one who offers his support”
>99% boys
Bryton
92% boys · 8% girls
Kaelen
“a mighty warrior”
90% boys · 10% girls