Peter

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Petrus in NL Netherlands, ID Indonesia and Piter in BR Brazil.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Peter is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese given name652K records spelled Peter191 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian

  Also written Pedro, Pietro, פדרו, Pëdrö, Pédro

• a separate given name191K records spelled Peter10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden

  Also written Péter, Pétèr, P̶̷̲̅e̶̷̲̅t̶̷̲̅e̶̷̲̅r̶̷̲̅, Pêtër, P̱̿͞e̢͓̎t̶͓̆e͈ͥ͟r̸̮̾

• a separate given name178K records spelled Peter9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Péter, Petĕr, Petér, Pèter, Pétér

• French given name168K records spelled Peter182 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Canada, Belgium

  Languages: French, English, German

  Also written Pierre, Pere, Piotr, Petrus, Pita

• Thai given name20K records spelled Peter26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, United Kingdom, Laos

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written ปีเตอร์, Petr, Piter, ปิเตอร์, Pater

143 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Peter is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Peter's original name was Simon (in Hebrew, Shim'on), a common Jewish name. Jesus gave him the Aramaic name 'Cephas' (Kepha), which translates to 'rock' or 'stone'. The Greek equivalent is 'Petros', from which the English name 'Peter' is derived. This name was not used as a proper name before him and signifies a tough or foundational character.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A classic and strong name, Peter means 'rock,' symbolizing stability, leadership, and faithfulness. It belonged to the Apostle Peter, a devoted and central figure in Christianity, making it a name with deep historical and spiritual significance.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, From Cephas/Petros, 'rock'; New Testament apostle, St Peter. Irish Peadar; once often replaced by Piers/Pierce in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, from Latin Petrus, from Greek petros 'rock'; first attested Petrus 1086 DB, Hy 2 Gilb (L)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In German, from Greek Petros 'rock'; source of several stock compounds

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Peter Sellersb. 1925GBBritish actor and comedian (1925–1980)
• Peter O'Tooleb. 1932GBBritish-Irish actor (1932–2013)
• Peter Bogdanovichb. 1939USAmerican film director (1939–2022)
• Peter Diamondb. 1940USNobel prize in economics winner
• Jan Peter Balkenendeb. 1956NLPrime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 to 2010
• Peter Pellegrinib. 1975SKPresident of Slovakia
• Peter Crouchb. 1981GBEnglish association football player (born 1981)
• Manuel Neuerb. 1986DEnot in their usual nameGerman association football player
• Pete Davidsonb. 1993USnot in their usual nameAmerican comedian and actor (born 1993)
• Shawn Mendesb. 1998CAnot in their usual nameCanadian singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,080 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Peter?

We estimate roughly 1.5 million people bear Peter (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Peter have the most bearers?

Peter is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled peter.

How common is Peter compared with other names?

In Germany, Peter is the 7th most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Peter a male or female name?

Peter is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Peter mean?

Recorded meaning: From the male personal name Peter, from Greek Petros, literally ‘rock’, translating Aramaic kefa ‘rock’.