Given name & surname
Petra
“stone”
Petra is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “stone.”
Original GreekΠετρος
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “stone.”
Where it comes from
In English use, Petra is a feminine 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 use, Petra is used as a feminine counterpart of Peter.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. 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 Petra appears in John 1:35-42.
From biblical name research
Petra through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 14,626
- 67 boys · 14,559 girls
- Most popular year
- 1927
- 205 babies
- 2025
- 161
- #1,372 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 161 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,372 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 8.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 197 in 1927. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 22,965 as a first name in 2020; 243 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.
Petra’s family of names
In Czech usage, Petra has a diminutive in Petruška. Petra is a feminine form of Peter. In German usage, Petra has a conventional equivalent in the English form PETRINA.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Petra has relatives in 13 languages.
24 related names in 13 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.
- Petrinavariant · German, English
- Pettralikely variant
- Petruškadiminutive · Czech
- Péťadiminutive · Czech
- Peťulkadiminutive · Czech
- Peťadiminutive · Czech, Slovak
- Peťkadiminutive · Slovak
- Petrinevariant · German
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Petra
- Petra KvitováCzech tennis playerborn 1990
- Petra MedeSwedish comedian, dancer and television hostborn 1970
- Petra KellyGerman politician and activist (1947-1992)
- Petra VlhováSlovak female alpine skierborn 1995
- Petra MartićCroatian female tennis playerborn 1991
- Petra NěmcováCzech fashion modelborn 1979
- Petra De SutterFlemish politicianborn 1963
- Petra MarklundSwedish singer and songwriterborn 1984
- Petra MajdičSlovenian cross-country skier (born 1979)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Petra, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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