Peter
Peter was given to 1,954 boys in 2025, #187 among boys’ names; 591,531 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 384,000 Americans named Peter and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 54 years old and half are between 36 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Peter by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Peter mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Peter is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “stone, rock” (πέτρος).
From Middle English Peter, from Old English Petrus, from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), from πέτρος (pétros, “stone, rock”). Doublet of Pedro, Piers, and Boutros.
/ˈpitɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Peter?
#187 among boys’ names, 2025
Peter rose from #205 in 2015 to #187 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 1.0 to 1.1 per 1,000.
11,628 babies in 1957, the peak
Peter peaked in 1957, when 11,628 babies were given it (11,603 boys, #37 among boys’ names). The 1,954 births of 2025 are 17% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,954 | #187 | 1.1 |
| 2024 | 1,899 | #192 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | 1,750 | #210 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | 1,773 | #213 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,785 | #215 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | 1,762 | #215 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | 1,821 | #212 | 1.0 |
| 2018 | 1,826 | #211 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | 1,793 | #214 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | 1,927 | #207 | 1.0 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,939 | #205 | 1.0 |
| 2014 | 1,923 | #204 | 1.0 |
| 2013 | 1,854 | #206 | 1.0 |
| 2012 | 1,869 | #204 | 1.0 |
| 2011 | 1,838 | #197 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 1,935 | #193 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 2,009 | #190 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 2,186 | #181 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 2,340 | #177 | 1.1 |
| 2006 | 2,481 | #167 | 1.2 |
| 2005 | 2,555 | #161 | 1.3 |
| 2004 | 2,790 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | 2,804 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 2002 | 2,873 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 2001 | 2,950 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 2000 | 3,148 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1999 | 3,439 | #105 | 1.8 |
| 1998 | 3,388 | #111 | 1.8 |
| 1997 | 3,829 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 1996 | 4,082 | #95 | 2.2 |
| 1995 | 4,112 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1994 | 4,225 | #87 | 2.2 |
| 1993 | 4,538 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1992 | 4,598 | #81 | 2.3 |
| 1991 | 4,959 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1990 | 5,224 | #74 | 2.5 |
| 1989 | 5,411 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1988 | 5,425 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1987 | 5,553 | #64 | 3.0 |
| 1986 | 5,797 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1985 | 5,671 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1984 | 5,633 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1983 | 5,482 | #59 | 3.1 |
| 1982 | 5,777 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1981 | 5,997 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1980 | 5,967 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1979 | 6,079 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1978 | 5,872 | #54 | 3.6 |
| 1977 | 5,821 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1976 | 5,445 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1975 | 5,698 | #54 | 3.6 |
| 1974 | 5,940 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1973 | 5,913 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1972 | 6,471 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1971 | 7,025 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1970 | 8,056 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1969 | 7,832 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1968 | 8,122 | #39 | 4.7 |
| 1967 | 8,311 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1966 | 8,584 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1965 | 9,395 | #39 | 5.1 |
| 1964 | 9,911 | #39 | 5.0 |
| 1963 | 9,614 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1962 | 9,585 | #43 | 4.6 |
| 1961 | 10,349 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1960 | 10,715 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1959 | 11,289 | #40 | 5.3 |
| 1958 | 10,757 | #41 | 5.1 |
| 1957 | 11,603 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1956 | 11,334 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1955 | 11,003 | #35 | 5.3 |
| 1954 | 10,085 | #37 | 4.9 |
| 1953 | 9,729 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1952 | 9,586 | #36 | 4.9 |
| 1951 | 8,999 | #38 | 4.8 |
| 1950 | 8,362 | #37 | 4.7 |
| 1949 | 8,266 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1948 | 8,048 | #37 | 4.6 |
| 1947 | 8,590 | #36 | 4.7 |
| 1946 | 7,483 | #38 | 4.6 |
| 1945 | 6,483 | #38 | 4.8 |
| 1944 | 6,340 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1943 | 6,877 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1942 | 6,587 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1941 | 5,607 | #44 | 4.6 |
| 1940 | 5,049 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1939 | 4,639 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1938 | 4,293 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1937 | 3,809 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1936 | 3,714 | #56 | 3.6 |
| 1935 | 3,422 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1934 | 3,290 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1933 | 3,137 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1932 | 3,130 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1931 | 3,122 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1930 | 3,266 | #56 | 3.0 |
| 1929 | 3,216 | #55 | 3.0 |
| 1928 | 3,299 | #56 | 3.0 |
| 1927 | 3,301 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1926 | 3,358 | #58 | 3.0 |
| 1925 | 3,373 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1924 | 3,520 | #59 | 3.1 |
| 1923 | 3,409 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1922 | 3,545 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1921 | 3,548 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1920 | 3,497 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1919 | 3,375 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1918 | 3,711 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1917 | 3,464 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1916 | 3,370 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1915 | 3,302 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1914 | 2,624 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1913 | 1,934 | #51 | 3.8 |
| 1912 | 1,679 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1911 | 845 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1910 | 631 | #56 | 3.2 |
| 1909 | 539 | #56 | 3.3 |
| 1908 | 541 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1907 | 473 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1906 | 427 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1905 | 409 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1904 | 395 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1903 | 372 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1902 | 433 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1901 | 343 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1900 | 443 | #58 | 2.9 |
| 1899 | 354 | #53 | 3.3 |
| 1898 | 409 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1897 | 397 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1896 | 402 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1895 | 412 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1894 | 391 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1893 | 392 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1892 | 465 | #45 | 3.8 |
| 1891 | 396 | #45 | 3.9 |
| 1890 | 410 | #45 | 3.7 |
| 1889 | 425 | #45 | 3.8 |
| 1888 | 498 | #41 | 4.1 |
| 1887 | 421 | #43 | 4.2 |
| 1886 | 437 | #42 | 3.9 |
| 1885 | 516 | #33 | 4.8 |
| 1884 | 524 | #34 | 4.6 |
| 1883 | 450 | #36 | 4.3 |
| 1882 | 461 | #36 | 4.1 |
| 1881 | 428 | #37 | 4.2 |
| 1880 | 496 | #31 | 4.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Peter a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Peter has been given almost only to boys: 1,943 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Peter: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Peter, and how old are they?
384,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 591,531 Americans ever recorded as Peter. The median Peter alive today is 54 years old; half are between 36 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 464,396 people named Peter (489 women and girls, 463,907 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 408,973 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 18,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 124,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 97,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 78,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 41,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 23,800 |
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 Peter born?
The states with the most babies named Peter are New York, California and Massachusetts, with 37% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 117,314 | #174 | 2.5× |
| California | 50,613 | #256 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 44,742 | #156 | 2.7× |
| New Jersey | 37,499 | #180 | 2.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 37,209 | #183 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 34,067 | #153 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 22,137 | #184 | 0.9× |
| Connecticut | 21,148 | #125 | 2.8× |
| Wisconsin | 19,214 | #141 | 1.5× |
| Ohio | 17,666 | #197 | 0.6× |
Where Peter is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Peter is most over-represented in Connecticut: since 1910 it was given 2.8 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 Peter with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 592,341 babies since 1880, Peter is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,954 of their 1,968 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Peter
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 Peter and names like it
- Compare Peter and PetarBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sPeter peaked in 1957.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Peter since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Peter: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1957The year the most babies were named Peter.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Peter alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.