Peter is a distinctive choice, ranked #287 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Peter in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#287
US Rank #187
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About the Name Peter
Peter is gradually declining in popularity, having dropped 60 places over five years. Its high point was #59 in 1996, and it now sits at #286. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It has broken into the UK top 100 on 7 occasions, signalling genuine mainstream interest.
Peter is fairly common in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Peter in their class.
In the US it ranks even higher at #192, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
โญ Famous People Named Peter
Peter Falk โ Peter Michael Falk was an American actor.
Saint Peter โ Saint Peter (born Shimon bar Yonah; c. 1 BC โ AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, Cephas, or Simon Bar-Jona, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Peter
Unlikely. With around 158 UK babies named Peter per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Peter in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Peter has been fairly steady, ranked #287 in 2025 against #226 in 2020. Its best recorded position was #59 in 1996.
Peter is more popular in the US (#192) than in the UK (#286). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Peter include: Peter Falk and Peter Attia. Short summaries for each appear below.
Peter appears in the US top 500 at #192 in 2024 โ moderately popular in America, though less so than in the UK.
158
UK babies named Peter (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.1
In a school of 600
↓ 61 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Peter
Almost certainly the only Peter in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2025)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Peter
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Saint Peter (born Shimon bar Yonah; c. 1 BC โ AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, Cephas, or Simon Bar-Jona, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church.
Peter III Fyodorovich (Russian: ะััั III ะคัะดะพัะพะฒะธั, romanized: Pyotr III Fyodorovich, born Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp; 21 February 1728 โ 17 July 1762) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when his wife, Catherine II "the Great", overthrew him in a palace coup d'รฉtat.