Given name & surname
Piers
“as solid and strong as a rock”
Piers is a medieval English form of Peter with a distinctive literary association.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Piers has a related form in Pierce. In English use, Pierce carries the interpretation “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old French.
How it developed
In English usage, Piers developed from Petrus.
The story
William Langland’s Piers Plowman presents Piers as a figure associated with work, honesty, and fairness. The poem may have helped encourage the name’s revival in the twentieth century.
Piers through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 295
- 295 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2013
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,407 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −26%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,407 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 20 in 2013. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 441 as a first name in 2020; 331 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.
Piers’s family of names
In English usage, Piers shares an earlier linguistic root with Peter. In English usage, Piers has a related form in Pierce. Piers is a form of Peter.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Piers has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old French roots to each of them.
19 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Piers
- Piers MorganBritish journalist and television host (born 1965)
- Piers SellersBritish-born American astronaut1955–2016
- Piers AnthonyEnglish-American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genresborn 1934
- Piers Courageracecar driver (1942-1970)
- Piers Paul ReadBritish writer (born 1941)
- Piers BohlBaltic German mathematician (1865-1921)
- Piers HaggardBritish film and television director1939–2023
- Piers CorbynBritish political activist (born 1947)
- Piers LaneAustralian classical pianistborn 1958
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Piers, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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