Peter - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. pe-ter, pet-er ] The boy name Peter is pronounced as PIYTer ^KEY. Peter is used chiefly in the English, German, and Scandinavian languages, and its origin is Old Greek. Cephas (Aramaic), Cephus (Aramaic), Petros (Old Greek), and Petrus (Latin) are older forms of Peter. The name is derived via the Latin form Petrus, from the Old Greek Petros, itself of the element 'petros' (rock, stone). The name was borne by Peter, the most notable of the apostles; before he was given the name by Jesus, possibly to distinguish him from another apostle similarly named, he was known as Simon. The original form of the name given to him was the Aramaic Cephas or Kephas, and in the Bible Jesus alluded to the meaning that Peter shall be the 'rock' on which the church would be built. The name was popular in the Middle Ages, and was borne by several saints and popes. In the Domesday Book, the name was recorded as the Latin Petrus; the modern form Peter became widely used by the 14th century. The name declined in popularity after the Reformation, due to its association with the papacy. It later saw a revival at the start of the 20th century, from the fictional main character Peter Rabbit in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) and the subsequent books in the popular series. Another fictional character which boosted the adoption of the name was J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, which debuted in the stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904), and later appeared in the novel Peter and Wendy (1911). The name Petra (English, German, Hungarian, Polish, and Spanish) and the name Petronia (German) are the female forms of Peter.

The name Peter is used to a great extent; it has 75 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Peter used in English include Ferris (also used in Irish), Parkins, Peterson, Petey, Petie, Petroc, Pierce (also used in Irish), and Piers. The short form Pete is another English variant.

Foreign variants of Peter include Boutros (Arabic), Panos (Greek), Par (Scandinavian), Pär (Scandinavian), Peadair (Scottish), Peadar (Irish and Scottish), Peder (Scandinavian), Pedr (Welsh), Pedrin (Spanish), Pedro (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Peer (Dutch and German), Peet (Estonian), Peeter (Estonian), Pekka (Finnish), Pelle (Scandinavian), Pequin (Spanish), Per (Dutch, German, and Scandinavian), Pere (Catalan), Perequin (Spanish), Perico (Spanish), Perka (Russian), Pero (Italian and Slavic), Petar (Romanian and Slavic), Petinka (Russian), Petr (Czech, Russian, and Slavic), Petras (Lithuanian), Petre (Romanian), Petrelis (Lithuanian), Petro (Russian and Ukrainian), Petronio (Spanish and Italian), Petros (Greek), Petru (Romanian), Petrukas (Lithuanian), Petruno (Russian), Petrusha (Russian), Petter (Scandinavian), Petteri (Finnish), Peyo (Spanish), Péter (Hungarian), Pictrus (Polish), Piero (Italian), Pierre (French), Pierrot (French), Piet (Dutch and German), Pieter (Dutch), Pietrek (Polish), Pietro (Italian), Piotr (Polish and Slavic), Piotrek (Polish), Piti (Spanish), Pjotr (Russian), Pyatr (Russian), Pyotr (Russian), and Takis (Greek). Specific foreign variants include the short forms Pit (German) and Pitt (German), and the pet forms Peidearan (Scottish), Perry (French), Pet'ka (Czech), Petrícek (Czech), Petrík (Czech), Petrousek (Czech), Petulka (Czech), Petunka (Czech), Petya (Russian), and Pét'a (Czech).

See also the related forms, Hanspeter (German) and Pearson (English).

Peter is a classic favorite. At present it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though it was in more widespread use previously. At the height of its usage in 1957, 0.529% of baby boys were given the name Peter. It ranked at #37 then. The baby name has since experienced a fall in popularity, and is today of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.100% and its ranking #183, but it was nonetheless the most popular within all boy names in its group. In 2008, 53% more boys were named Peter than the next ranked name, Pedro (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish).

Baby names that sound like Peter include Peeter (Estonian), Péter (Hungarian), Pieter (Dutch), Padhra (Irish), Peadair (Scottish), Peder (Scandinavian), Pedro (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Petar (Romanian and Slavic), Petr (Czech, Russian, and Slavic), Petre (Romanian), Petro (Russian and Ukrainian), Petru (Romanian), Petter (Scandinavian), Piotr (Polish and Slavic), Potter (English), Pyatr (Russian), Pyotr (Russian), Peadar (Irish and Scottish), Pedr (Welsh), and Petteri (Finnish).

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