Given name & surname · also Scottish Gaelic, Aramaic
Peter
“as solid and strong as a rock”
Peter is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Original GreekΠαναγιώτης
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Greek, Aramaic, and Scottish Gaelic naming traditions.
How it developed
In Cebuano usage, Peter developed from the Latin form Petrus.
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
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Peter appears in John 1:35-42, John 1:44.
- John 1:35-42
- John 1:44
From biblical name research
Peter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 591,531
- 589,588 boys · 1,943 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 11,628 babies
- 2025
- 1,954
- #187 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,954 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 187 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 0.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11,603 in 1957. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (162). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 464,396 as a first name in 2020; 9,240 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.
Peter’s family of names
In English usage, Peter has a diminutive in Pete. Peter shares a linguistic root with Pedro. In English usage, Peter has a conventional equivalent in the French form Pierre.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Peter has relatives in 81 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Peter comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 78
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Petediminutive · English, French
- Petarvariant · Croatian
- Patediminutive · Scots
- Petrosvariant · English
- Petersonvariant · German, English
- Pietervariant · Dutch, Afrikaans
- Pedervariant · Danish, Norwegian
- Petrevariant · English, Italian
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Petrusvariant · Swedish, German
- Pettervariant · Swedish, Norwegian
- Peteydiminutive · English
- Peervariant · German
- Pervariant · German, Swedish
- Peatvariant
- Piotrvariant · Polish, zlw-opl
- Petrvariant · German, Czech
- Petapet form · English
- Peterrlikely variant
- Петреvariant · Macedonian
- Pipoydiminutive · ceb
- Peterlevariant · German
- Pötzschshort form · German
- Petschpet form · English, German
- Pietschpet form · English, German
- Petzpet form · English, German
- Peťodiminutive · Slovak
- Petriediminutive · English
- Parrelldiminutive · English
- Perrettdiminutive · English
- Parrottdiminutive · English
- Pellediminutive · Swedish, Danish
- Petersvariant · German
- Petyavariant
- Peturvariant · Italian, Faroese
- Petrusovariant
- Peterkevariant
- Peterkavariant
- Pytorvariant
- Petenkavariant
- Peatevariant
- Peadervariant
- Pyotrvariant · English
- Pietvariant · Dutch
- Petrovvariant
- Pekkavariant · Finnish
- Peitervariant · Italian
- Petirvariant · Italian
- Pärvariant · Swedish
- Pyterkevariant · German
- Pittervariant · German
- Pietersvariant · German
- Petzoldvariant · German
- Pettersvariant · German
- Petryvariant · German
- Petruschvariant · German
- Petrivariant · German, Basque
- Petersenvariant · German, Danish
- Peterschvariant · German
- Petermannvariant · German
- Petermandlvariant · German
And 18 more.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 113
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ΠαναγιώτηςGreek
- ΠίτερGreek
- ΠήτερGreek
- PàdraigScottish Gaelic
- Peadarcognate · Scottish Gaelic, Irish
- Πέτροςroot · Greek, Ancient Greek
- Pedrodoublet · Spanish, English
- Piercerelated form · English
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Petrafeminine form · Slovak, Icelandic
- Pierredoublet · French, English
- Pietrocognate · Italian
- Pierocognate · Italian
- Piersdoublet · English
- Petreafeminine form · Danish
- Petronellafeminine form · English
- Perkinspatronymic from · English
- Patchrelated form
- Kepaequivalent
- Pierafeminine form · Northern Sami
- Bedabar
- PitaMāori
- Petrocognate · Esperanto, Swahili
- PeruBasque
- Pierrettefeminine form
- Parcognate
- Каменequivalent
- Piotrzequivalent
- Luuchequivalent
- ராயப்பன்equivalent
- Peydroequivalent
- ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥequivalent
- പത്രോസ്equivalent
- Пятроequivalent
- פטרequivalent
- Pejterequivalent
- بطرسequivalent
- Pierotequivalent
- Péderequivalent
- Peteraequivalent
- Pironequivalent
- Pietrequivalent
- Pyèequivalent
- Peteroequivalent
- Beedherequivalent
- Peróequivalent
- Pericaequivalent
- 彼得Chinese, cdo
- Питерborrowing · Russian
- ПётрRussian, Belarusian
- પીટરborrowing · Gujarati
- Piitaqborrowing · Greenlandic
- Piteurborrowing · nrf
- Petrikkefeminine form · Norwegian
- Pedrikkefeminine form · Norwegian
- ПетърBulgarian
- Pirecognate · Walloon
- Parrillpatronymic from · English
- Boutrosdoublet · English
- Piitaborrowing · Greenlandic
- Parkinsonpatronymic from · English
And 53 more.
See also 7
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Peter
- Peter the GreatTsar/Emperor of Russia from 1682 to 17251672–1725
- Peter Paul RubensFlemish painter (1577–1640)
- Peter KropotkinRussian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921)
- Bruno MarsAmerican singer-songwriter and record producer (born 1985)
- Peter O'TooleBritish-Irish actor (1932–2013)
- Peter JacksonNew Zealand film director, screenwriter, producer and actor (born 1961)
- Peter HiggsBritish physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1929–2024)
- Peter SellersBritish actor and comedian (1925–1980)
- Peter HandkeAustrian writer, playwright and film director (born 1942)
Characters named Peter: Peter Pan (fictional character created by J. M. Barrie), Peter Griffin (the Family Guy franchise), Peter Pevensie (fictional English boy, a lead character in the first two Narnia books), Peter Parker (the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Peter, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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