Peter - Name Meaning and Origin

The boy's name Peter \p(e)-ter\ is pronounced PEE-ter. It is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "rock". Variant of Petros. Biblical: one of the 12 apostles, Peter the fisherman has an impulsive nature as well as rocklike faith. Jesus said of him, "Upon this Rock I will build my church". In Catholic tradition, the first pope. The play "Peter Pan" has made the name popular. Pieter is a Dutch form; Petrov and Pyotr are Russian; Pierre is French; Boutros is Arabic. See also Pernell. Artists Piero della Francesca, Peter Paul Rubens; Russian emperor Peter the Great; actors Peter O'Toole, Peter Krause; Peter Rabbit; film directors Peter Jackson, Peter Bogdanovich; tennis player Pete Sampras.

Peter has 21 variant forms: Boutros, Par, Peder, Pedro, Pekka, Per, Petar, Pete, Peterson, Petr, Petre, Petros, Petrov, Pierce, Piero, Pierre, Piet, Pieter, Pietro, Piotr and Pyotr.

For more information, see also related names Cephas, Ferris, Parkins, Pekelo, Perkin and Piers.

Baby names that sound like Peter are Potter and Pedrio.

Peter is a very popular male first name and a very popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the boy's name Peter. Click here to compare Peter with related baby names.