Given name & surname
Pete
“as solid and strong as a rock”
In English use, Pete is a short form of Peter. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Pete is a short form of Peter. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Pete is a short form of Peter. Peter has been associated with Greek, Aramaic, and Scottish Gaelic naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Pete is a diminutive of Peter. In Finnish usage, Pete is a diminutive of PETRI.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Pete through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 43,700
- 43,530 boys · 170 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 767 babies
- 2025
- 58
- #2,382 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 58 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,382 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 767 in 1959. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (10). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 28,623 as a first name in 2020; 4,320 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.
Pete’s family of names
In English usage, Pete is a diminutive of Peter. In English usage, Pete has a conventional naming counterpart in the Afrikaans form Piet. Pete is a short form of Peter.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Pete has relatives in 5 languages.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Pete
- Pete SeegerAmerican folk singer (1919–2014)
- Pete SamprasAmerican tennis player (born 1971)
- Pete ButtigiegAmerican politician (born 1982)
- Pete ConradAmerican astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–1999)
- Pete HegsethUnited States Secretary of Defenseborn 1980
- Pete TownshendBritish musicianborn 1945
- Pete PostlethwaiteEnglish character actor (1946–2011)
- Pete DavidsonAmerican comedian and actor (born 1993)
- Pete MaravichAmerican basketball player (born 1947)
Characters named Pete: Pete Ross (fictional character(s) in the DC universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Pete, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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