Boys' name · since 1880
Pete
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 43,530 babies named Pete, peaking in 1959. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #548 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,364 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 43,530
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Pete currently ranks #2364 among boys' names in America, with 43,530 babies recorded since 1880.
Pete has 43,530 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2364 as of the latest data, more common than 83% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #548 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #2,364 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 43,530 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Pete ranks #548 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,364 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 43,530 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #548 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,364 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 43,530
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Pete's 43,530 recorded births place it above 98.79% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
45 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Pete compares
43,530 Top 4% higher than 96% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Pete's all-time total is 118x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Pete | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 43,530 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 767 | 34 | 22,252 |
Pete's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Pete's full recorded timeline at 1953, 40% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 60% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 2024, with just 40 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1959 peak of 767 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Pete popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1959)
- 767
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Pete popularity over time - girls
170 total births recorded since 1916 (Pete as girls' name)
Pete by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (6,285 births, 14% of the file).
1920s was Pete's strongest decade.
6,285 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Pete births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 590
1880s
590 births
- 1890s 651
1890s
651 births
- 1900s 949
1900s
949 births
- 1910s
1910s
4,352 births
- 1920s
1920s
6,285 births
- 1930s
1930s
5,529 births
- 1940s
1940s
6,130 births
- 1950s
1950s
5,926 births
- 1960s
1960s
5,153 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,854 births
- 1980s 1,964
1980s
1,964 births
- 1990s 1,339
1990s
1,339 births
- 2000s 893
2000s
893 births
- 2010s 599
2010s
599 births
- 2020s 316
2020s
316 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 6,285 births (14% of all-time use).
How Pete compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Pete's total volume
Pete by state
Where Pete concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 7,620 | 17.5% |
| #2 | California | | 5,696 | 13.1% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 2,453 | 5.6% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 1,694 | 3.9% |
| #5 | New Mexico | | 1,620 | 3.7% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 1,466 | 3.4% |
| #7 | Colorado | | 1,365 | 3.1% |
| #8 | New York | | 1,308 | 3.0% |
7,620 of 43,530 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 45 reporting states.
Pete appears in 45 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Pete? ▼
Where does Pete sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Pete most popular? ▼
Where is Pete most popular? ▼
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What to do with Pete's data
- Pete's decade-level peak was the 1920s (6,285 total births); usage has since declined to 316 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Petes (7,620 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Pete
Nearby Names Like Pete
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Pete
Compare Pete side by side: Pete vs Peter Pete vs Peterson Pete vs Petros
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Pete
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Pete: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1959)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Pete draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.