BabyNameScore

Name profile

Peter

masculine

82First-name usabilityWorkable with minor friction
Evidence coverageGood

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Peter comes from Greek "Petros" ("stone"), a translation of the Aramaic name "Cephas," which the Gospels record Jesus giving to the apostle Simon. Its widespread adoption as a given name across Christian Europe traces directly to the renown of Peter the Apostle, traditionally regarded as the first Pope.

Why it works

  • a well-established name with a clear, learnable pronunciation
  • spelling is short and predictable — rarely needs repeating

What to know

pronounced "PEE-ter" — may invite a pronunciation check on first meeting

Popularity

Familiar — #187 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Meaning and origin

Peter means "Rock" or "stone" — from Greek "Petros," itself a translation of the Aramaic name "Cephas," which Jesus gave to the apostle Simon.

Carries deep Christian religious significance through the Apostle Peter, traditionally regarded by the Catholic and Orthodox churches as the first Pope/bishop of Rome, while functioning as a fully secular, mainstream classic name across the Western world independent of that religious association.

Documented origin: Peter comes from Greek "Petros" ("stone"), a translation of the Aramaic name "Cephas," which the Gospels record Jesus giving to the apostle Simon. Its widespread adoption as a given name across Christian Europe traces directly to the renown of Peter the Apostle, traditionally regarded as the first Pope.

VerifiedDirectly documented by an independent source, with no competing account on file.

How it travels

English and Turkish are shown by default; German is included when it adds a meaningfully different reading.

EnglishPEE-tər, IPA /ˈpiː.tər/. — Consistent pronunciation across major English-speaking regions; other-language forms (Pieter, Petro, Pyotr) are pronounced differently and are treated as distinct variants.researched pronunciation
TurkishNo strong structural signal of Turkish/English divergence for this spelling.deterministic phonetic analysis
GermanNo strong structural signal of German/English divergence for this spelling.deterministic phonetic analysis

Spelling stability: moderate — based on letter-pattern analysis, not a documented linguistic fact.

Also documented

English: PEE-tər

Popularity without panic

Familiar — #187 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Familiar enough to feel established, distinctive enough to stand out.

Full-name check

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Real-world considerations

  • Familiar — #187 in the latest U.S. ranking.
  • Spelling note: Petar.
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