Peter

“Stone, rock” — Ancient Greek, via Latin origin

Boy's name · #187 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Peter has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #31 (1880) · 589,588 babies named Peter all-time · 1 in 880 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: #31 in Hungary (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 50 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Peters

Peter the Great — Tsar/Emperor of Russia from 1682 to 1725
Peter Paul Rubens — Flemish painter (1577–1640)
Peter Kropotkin — Russian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921)
Peter O'Toole — British-Irish actor (1932–2013)
Peter Abelard — French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)

In stories & tradition

Peter (Spider-Man) — Spider-Man · The Amazing Spider-Man
Peter Pan — Peter Pan · Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up
Peter Griffin — Family Guy

What Peters become

Among 34,539 notable people named Peter:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.41× more often than among typical names — e.g. Peter Kropotkin, Russian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921).

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.