Pete
Pete was given to 58 boys in 2025, #2,382 among boys’ names; 43,700 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 19,000 Americans named Pete and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (43% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 46 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Pete by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Pete mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Pete is “a diminutive of the male given name Peter.”
/piːt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Pete?
#2,382 among boys’ names, 2025
Pete fell from #2,202 in 2015 to #2,382 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 32.3 to 34.0 per million.
767 babies in 1959, the peak
Pete peaked in 1959, when 767 boys were given it, #285 among boys’ names. The 58 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58 | #2,382 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 40 | #3,083 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 54 | #2,502 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 55 | #2,507 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 58 | #2,366 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 51 | #2,535 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 44 | #2,839 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 60 | #2,276 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 56 | #2,333 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 49 | #2,580 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 62 | #2,202 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 70 | #2,037 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 63 | #2,132 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 64 | #2,122 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 66 | #2,047 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 65 | #2,087 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 82 | #1,818 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 88 | #1,733 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 89 | #1,709 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 88 | #1,636 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 80 | #1,686 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 86 | #1,548 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 94 | #1,415 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 97 | #1,367 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 90 | #1,393 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 99 | #1,305 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 110 | #1,177 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 123 | #1,068 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 121 | #1,053 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 126 | #993 | 0.07 |
| 1995 | 118 | #1,022 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 130 | #965 | 0.07 |
| 1993 | 147 | #879 | 0.07 |
| 1992 | 128 | #948 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 167 | #795 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 169 | #778 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 179 | #739 | 0.09 |
| 1988 | 179 | #702 | 0.09 |
| 1987 | 172 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 186 | #657 | 0.10 |
| 1985 | 182 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1984 | 195 | #609 | 0.11 |
| 1983 | 206 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1982 | 209 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 236 | #555 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 220 | #579 | 0.12 |
| 1979 | 269 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1978 | 210 | #583 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 262 | #505 | 0.16 |
| 1976 | 261 | #494 | 0.17 |
| 1975 | 258 | #498 | 0.17 |
| 1974 | 268 | #490 | 0.17 |
| 1973 | 279 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1972 | 313 | #450 | 0.19 |
| 1971 | 360 | #428 | 0.20 |
| 1970 | 374 | #424 | 0.20 |
| 1969 | 342 | #426 | 0.19 |
| 1968 | 357 | #409 | 0.21 |
| 1967 | 379 | #387 | 0.22 |
| 1966 | 388 | #387 | 0.22 |
| 1965 | 449 | #362 | 0.24 |
| 1964 | 549 | #333 | 0.28 |
| 1963 | 609 | #321 | 0.30 |
| 1962 | 629 | #314 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 695 | #294 | 0.33 |
| 1960 | 756 | #287 | 0.35 |
| 1959 | 767 | #285 | 0.36 |
| 1958 | 757 | #279 | 0.36 |
| 1957 | 651 | #295 | 0.30 |
| 1956 | 573 | #310 | 0.27 |
| 1955 | 551 | #310 | 0.27 |
| 1954 | 495 | #327 | 0.24 |
| 1953 | 531 | #311 | 0.27 |
| 1952 | 504 | #316 | 0.26 |
| 1951 | 537 | #300 | 0.29 |
| 1950 | 560 | #280 | 0.31 |
| 1949 | 580 | #284 | 0.33 |
| 1948 | 654 | #252 | 0.37 |
| 1947 | 737 | #239 | 0.40 |
| 1946 | 684 | #228 | 0.42 |
| 1945 | 578 | #234 | 0.43 |
| 1944 | 649 | #214 | 0.48 |
| 1943 | 640 | #226 | 0.45 |
| 1942 | 561 | #239 | 0.41 |
| 1941 | 534 | #239 | 0.43 |
| 1940 | 513 | #237 | 0.44 |
| 1939 | 543 | #222 | 0.49 |
| 1938 | 513 | #235 | 0.46 |
| 1937 | 510 | #232 | 0.48 |
| 1936 | 559 | #211 | 0.54 |
| 1935 | 588 | #204 | 0.56 |
| 1934 | 602 | #205 | 0.58 |
| 1933 | 514 | #227 | 0.52 |
| 1932 | 530 | #226 | 0.51 |
| 1931 | 592 | #212 | 0.57 |
| 1930 | 578 | #223 | 0.53 |
| 1929 | 584 | #220 | 0.54 |
| 1928 | 614 | #214 | 0.55 |
| 1927 | 599 | #226 | 0.53 |
| 1926 | 643 | #212 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 646 | #214 | 0.58 |
| 1924 | 628 | #215 | 0.55 |
| 1923 | 623 | #208 | 0.57 |
| 1922 | 644 | #203 | 0.59 |
| 1921 | 668 | #205 | 0.61 |
| 1920 | 636 | #205 | 0.60 |
| 1919 | 628 | #201 | 0.64 |
| 1918 | 638 | #201 | 0.63 |
| 1917 | 639 | #190 | 0.69 |
| 1916 | 582 | #196 | 0.65 |
| 1915 | 531 | #203 | 0.63 |
| 1914 | 432 | #194 | 0.66 |
| 1913 | 340 | #199 | 0.66 |
| 1912 | 263 | #211 | 0.61 |
| 1911 | 143 | #206 | 0.63 |
| 1910 | 156 | #181 | 0.80 |
| 1909 | 120 | #188 | 0.73 |
| 1908 | 131 | #173 | 0.85 |
| 1907 | 122 | #178 | 0.83 |
| 1906 | 80 | #221 | 0.60 |
| 1905 | 86 | #203 | 0.65 |
| 1904 | 71 | #221 | 0.55 |
| 1903 | 69 | #217 | 0.58 |
| 1902 | 75 | #207 | 0.61 |
| 1901 | 79 | #186 | 0.74 |
| 1900 | 116 | #184 | 0.77 |
| 1899 | 74 | #186 | 0.70 |
| 1898 | 53 | #242 | 0.43 |
| 1897 | 76 | #195 | 0.67 |
| 1896 | 63 | #227 | 0.53 |
| 1895 | 66 | #212 | 0.56 |
| 1894 | 68 | #206 | 0.59 |
| 1893 | 64 | #214 | 0.57 |
| 1892 | 74 | #203 | 0.61 |
| 1891 | 53 | #221 | 0.52 |
| 1890 | 60 | #214 | 0.54 |
| 1889 | 60 | #215 | 0.54 |
| 1888 | 82 | #184 | 0.68 |
| 1887 | 47 | #238 | 0.46 |
| 1886 | 54 | #231 | 0.49 |
| 1885 | 56 | #216 | 0.52 |
| 1884 | 81 | #175 | 0.71 |
| 1883 | 43 | #251 | 0.41 |
| 1882 | 60 | #211 | 0.53 |
| 1881 | 57 | #201 | 0.57 |
| 1880 | 50 | #235 | 0.45 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Pete a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Pete has been given almost only to boys: 170 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Pete: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Pete, and how old are they?
19,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 43% of the 43,700 Americans ever recorded as Pete. The median Pete alive today is 62 years old; half are between 46 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 28,623 people named Pete (114 women and girls, 28,509 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 21,677 born in the U.S. The Census count is 32% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Pete rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,830 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,410 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,590 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,420 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 715 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Pete born?
The states with the most babies named Pete are Texas, California and Pennsylvania, with 43% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 7,620 | #1,728 | 3.0× |
| California | 5,696 | #2,717 | 2.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,453 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 1,694 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New Mexico | 1,620 | not ranked | 6.5× |
| Illinois | 1,466 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Colorado | 1,365 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| New York | 1,308 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Arizona | 1,290 | not ranked | 3.9× |
| Michigan | 938 | not ranked | 0.6× |
Where Pete is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Pete is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 6.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Pete with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Pete
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Pete and names like it
- Compare Pete and CarlBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sPete peaked in 1959.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Pete since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Pete.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Pete alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.