boy's name
Peadar
PAD-ar
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (E&W)
- Births on record 816
Northern Ireland
#188
2024 births
Peadar is a boy's name, the Irish form of Peter, from a Greek word for a rock. It ranks 188th in Northern Ireland and only 233rd in the Republic, so an Irish-language name is doing better in the market where Irish is less widely spoken.
- Peadar is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2021, when 21 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 53,616 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1965.
Peadar over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. Peadar is more popular in Northern Ireland — see the country table below. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 32 |
| 1970s | 79 |
| 1980s | 104 |
| 1990s | 71 |
| 2000s | 68 |
| 2010s | 134 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 110 |
What Peadar means
Peadar means rock or stone. The Greek name behind it was itself a translation of an Aramaic nickname rather than a name already in use, so the whole family begins as a description of one man.
Where Peadar comes from
Peadar is the Irish form of Peter, which comes from the Greek petros, a rock or stone. The name did not exist before the Gospels: Jesus renames Simon as Kephas, the Aramaic for rock, and Greek writers rendered that as Petros, so the name begins as a translated nickname and becomes one of the most widely borne names in Christendom. Irish took it in twice — Peadar directly from the Latin Petrus, and Piaras through the Norman French Piers, which also gives the surname Pierce. Two forms of one name entering the same language by different conquests is a pattern Irish naming shows repeatedly.
Peadar in use
Peadar ranks 188th in Northern Ireland on 11 births and 233rd in Ireland on 20, and appears in no other market in our data. It peaked in Ireland in 2021, when 21 babies were registered, and is rising. Our records carry it from 1965 across 816 lifetime births. Ranking higher in the North than in the Republic runs against the pattern for Irish-language names, where the Republic usually leads.
How popular is Peadar?
In 2024, Peadar was given to 11 babies in England and Wales, ranking #188 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Where Peadar is used
Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Peadar
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Peadar also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Peadar over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Peadar in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Peadar
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Peadar — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Peadar
What does the name Peadar mean?
Rock or stone — it is the Irish form of Peter, from the Greek petros.
How do you pronounce Peadar?
PAD-ar, with a short a in the first syllable.
Is Peadar the same as Piaras?
Both are Irish forms of Peter, but they entered Irish separately — Peadar from Latin, Piaras from Norman French.
How popular is Peadar?
188th in Northern Ireland and 233rd in Ireland. It charts nowhere else.
Is Peadar a girl's or a boy's name?
Peadar is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Peadar a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Peadar currently ranks #188 in Ireland. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.