US rank #3036 Boys' name Peak 1959 43,474 births

Pete — #3036 US boys' name

43,474 babies named Pete in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1959. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s5901890s6511900s9491910s43521920s62851930s55291940s61301950s59281960s51531970s28551980s19641990s13382000s8932010s5992020s258
#3036
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 79% of names given to boys today.

1920s
Peak decade

14% of everyone ever named Pete was born in this single decade.

1959
Single peak year

768 babies were named Pete in 1959 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Pete

The Social Security Administration has registered 43,474 babies named Pete between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Pete currently holds the #3036 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1959, when 768 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Pete performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 6,285 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Pete shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 7,611 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Pete in 45 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Pete in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 43,474 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Pete at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

43,474

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1959

768 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#3,036

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Pete popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1959)
768
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
02004006008001,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 50

Pete popularity over time — girls

170 total births recorded since 1916 (Pete as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 170 births
45678910 19781971196219441932192619221916 5

Pete by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
6,285 births that decade — 14% of Pete's all-time total
1880s5901890s6511900s9491910s43521920s62851930s55291940s61301950s59281960s51531970s28551980s19641990s13382000s8932010s5992020s258

Pete by state

Where Pete concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Pete
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
7,611 17.5%
#2 California
5,691 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%
Texas share of Pete's total US births 17.5%
Even split

7,611 of 43,474 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?
43,474 babies have been named Pete since 1880. It currently ranks #3036 among boys. The peak year was 1959 with 768 births.
When was Pete most popular?
Pete was most popular in the 1920s decade with 6,285 total births. The single peak year was 1959.
Where is Pete most popular?
The top states for the name Pete are Texas (7,611 births), California (5,691 births), Pennsylvania (2,453 births).
How long has the name Pete been used?
Pete has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Pete?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Peter, Peterson, Petros, Petar, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.