ninan.org

Peter

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~400,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#187 among boys
Births in 2025
1,954 591,531 since 1880
Typical age
55 years, median

Peter popularity over time

Peter rank by birth year, 1880–2025Peter ranked #31 in 1880 and #187 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #31, in 1880.#100#187best #31 in 188018901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Peter was used most in 1957, when 11,628 babies were given the name. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Peter has spent 117 years inside the national top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #187 with 1,954 births.

Babies named Peter per yearPeaks at 11,628 births in 1957.11,628 in 1957018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Peter?

About 400,200 people named Peter are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 591,531 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Peter?

Median age among living Peters: 55. More of them were born in the 1960s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Peter a mid-century perennial name.

Your Peter

Ages of living people named PeterHalf of living Peters are older than 55 and half younger.median 55020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Peter is most common

Relative to births, District of Columbia carries 3.4× the national share of Peters. Utah, Alaska and New Hampshire follow.

Where Peter is used more than average5 states use the name Peter more than the national average.Alaska: 2.8× the national rateAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: 2.5× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: 2.4× the national rateMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 3.2× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 3.4× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Peter is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
District of Columbia 115 3.4×
Utah 621 3.2×
Alaska 69 2.8×
New Hampshire 106 2.5×
Montana 79 2.4×

Peter in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Peter ranked #287 in 2025 on 158 births. That is 26% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Peter comes from

From Middle English Peter, from Old English Petrus, from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος, from πέτρος (“stone, rock”). Doublet of Pedro, Piers, Boutros.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Peter

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Peter Paul Rubens Flemish painter 1577–1640 172
Peter O'Toole British-Irish actor 1932–2013 102
Peter Jackson New Zealand film director, screenwriter, producer and actor 1961 101
Peter Higgs British physicist and Nobel Prize winner 1929–2024 96
Peter Handke Austrian writer, playwright and film director 1942 93
Peter Sellers British actor and comedian 1925–1980 92
Peter Dinklage American actor 1969 90
Peter Ustinov British actor, writer and director 1921–2004 88
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 850 in 1911 to 1,684 in 1912 — 2.0 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/peter.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).