Peter

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek Πέτρος, Petros, which itself was a translation of Aramaic Kefa, the new name Jesus gave to apostle Simon bar Jonah. An Old English variant is Piers.

From Wikipedia

Peter first appears in the data in 1996 and has been recorded in 21 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1996 with 1,128 babies (rank #59 that year). It was not in the 2024 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Peter

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Peter yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

1Destiny numberThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
9PersonalityThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

11,374

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

1,128

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Bible: Peter — the rock
In Marvel Cinematic Universe: Peter Parker / Peter Quill — Spider-Man / Star-Lord
In The Chronicles of Narnia: Peter Pevensie — High King of Narnia

Famous people named Peter

Peter Paul Rubensprintmaker · b. 1577
Peter O'Toolefilm actor · b. 1932
Peter Jacksonfilm editor · b. 1961
Peter Higgsparticle physicist · b. 1929
Peter Handkeshort story writer · b. 1942

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with P

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1996	1,128	#59
1997	1,024	#65
1998	935	#67
1999	804	#72
2000	678	#79
2001	609	#86
2002	504	#97
2003	520	#101
2004	505	#109
2005	439	#124
2006	458	#118
2007	504	#113
2008	423	#135
2009	443	#133
2010	400	#147
2011	381	#155
2012	311	#184
2013	312	#182
2014	369	#153
2015	330	#177
2016	297	#189