embrisa.
embrisa.
Theme
Masculine

Peter

/ˈpi.tɚ/

Rock, stone

Greek

How to say it

PE · ter

/ˈpi.tɚ/

What it means

Greek petros ('rock, stone'). Jesus's renaming of his disciple Simon ('You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church'). The first pope; Vatican City's Saint Peter's Basilica is named for him.

Peter comes from the Greek petros ('rock, stone'), itself the Greek translation of the Aramaic Kepha ('rock'). The name appears in the New Testament as Jesus's rename of his disciple Simon — 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church' (Matthew 16:18). The Catholic Church traces its line of popes back to Peter; Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City marks the traditional site of his crucifixion. Peter has been one of the central Christian masculine names for two thousand years. Peter the Great (the modernizing Russian tsar), Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie), and Peter Parker (Spider-Man) cover three very different eras. The standard short is Pete.

Popularity over time

#10 #100 #1 #21518802025

peaked at #31 in 1880, currently #187 in 2025.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving

Heads-up notes

  • Nickname

    Pete is the universal short; Petey is the childhood form. Some Peters keep the full two syllables in adulthood.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

  • Saint Peter Apostle and the first pope, traditionally crucified upside-down in Rome
  • Peter the Great Russian tsar 1682-1725, modernized Russia and founded Saint Petersburg
  • Peter Pan J.M. Barrie's eternal-childhood character, 1904

Spelling variants

  • Pedro
  • Pierre
  • Pyotr