boy's name
Pete
PEET
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 43,779
Ireland
#820
2018 births
Pete means rock, and it began as a joke about a man's character — Jesus renames Simon as Cephas, the Aramaic for a stone, and the pun works in Greek but not in English.
- Pete is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 767 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 57,162 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Pete over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 590 |
| 1890s | 651 |
| 1900s | 949 |
| 1910s | 4,368 |
| 1920s | 6,332 |
| 1930s | 5,555 |
| 1940s | 6,149 |
| 1950s | 5,936 |
| 1960s | 5,174 |
| 1970s | 2,885 |
| 1980s | 1,964 |
| 1990s | 1,339 |
| 2000s | 893 |
| 2010s | 599 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 316 |
What Pete means
Pete means a rock or stone. The Greek petros names the object, and it was given as a nickname rather than inherited, which is unusual for a name this common.
Where Pete comes from
Pete shortens Peter, the Greek petros, a stone — a translation of the Aramaic Kepha, which the gospels also keep as Cephas. Matthew turns on the pun: you are Petros and on this petra I will build my church. The wordplay only works in Greek and Aramaic, which is one of the arguments that the saying is early. Peter was not used as a personal name before this; it was invented as a nickname for Simon.
Pete in use
Pete peaked in the United States in 1959, when 767 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 2371st in the United States on 58 births, across 43,779 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1880, and England and Wales shows only a handful of births in any year.
How popular is Pete?
In 2025, Pete was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Pete is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Pete
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Pete also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Pete over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Pete 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 Pete
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Pete — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Pete
What does the name Pete mean?
A rock — the Greek petros, through Peter.
Was Peter a name before this?
No. It was invented as a nickname for Simon.
What is Cephas?
The Aramaic original, meaning the same thing, which the gospels also keep.
How popular is Pete?
2371st in the United States, and stable rather than falling in our data.
Is Pete a girl's or a boy's name?
Pete is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Pete?
Pete has 1 syllable.
Is Pete a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Pete currently ranks #2,371 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.