Peter Boy
How popular is Peter?
#187 boy name in 2025
1,954 baby boys were named Peter in the US in 2025, making it the 187th most popular boy name.
Peter popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #187 for boys (▲ 5 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 1,954 boys |
| 10-year trend | Steady (+1% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #205 in 2015, #215 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1957 (11,603 boys) |
| Highest rank | #31 in 1880 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 1% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Peter counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Peter family of names ranked #197 for boys in 2025 (#205 the year before), with 1,968 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | 1,954 | 99% |
| Petar | 14 | 1% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Peter is most popular
Babies named Peter per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- District of Columbia: 3.9 per 1,000 (57 boys)
- Utah: 3.2 per 1,000 (302 boys)
- Alaska: 2.9 per 1,000 (35 boys)
- New Hampshire: 2.7 per 1,000 (61 boys)
- Montana: 2.6 per 1,000 (46 boys)
Peter by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,656 | #31 |
| 1890s | 4,028 | #43 |
| 1900s | 4,375 | #51 |
| 1910s | 24,935 | #48 |
| 1920s | 34,066 | #55 |
| 1930s | 35,822 | #46 |
| 1940s | 69,330 | #36 |
| 1950s | 102,747 | #35 |
| 1960s | 92,418 | #39 |
| 1970s | 62,320 | #44 |
| 1980s | 56,713 | #55 |
| 1990s | 42,394 | #74 |
| 2000s | 26,136 | #125 |
| 2010s | 18,725 | #193 |
| 2020s | 10,923 | #187 |
Boy names about as popular as Peter
Questions
- Is Peter a boy or girl name?
- Peter is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Peter were boys.
- How popular is the name Peter?
- 1,954 baby boys were named Peter in the US in 2025, making it the 187th most popular boy name.
- When was Peter most popular?
- Peter peaked in 1957, when 11,603 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #31 in 1880.
- How many people are named Peter?
- 591,531 babies have been named Peter in the US since 1880. We estimate about 395,489 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 55.
- Where is Peter most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Peter was most common in District of Columbia, at 3.9 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.