Petar
Masculine · “stone”
Petar is the South Slavic form of Peter, and the name is one of the very few in the Western tradition whose origin is a joke that landed. Jesus renamed Simon as Kephas, the rock, and Greek translated it as Petros — so the name is a nickname made permanent. Its American peak is 1968.
How old is the name Petar?
Petar first appears in US birth records in 1963 — 62 years ago. The typical Petar alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 600 people named Petar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Petar most popular?
Petar peaked in 1968, reaching #2109 nationally. Today it ranks #6143, 4,034 places below that high. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kephas to Petar
The story of Petar
Peter's name spread further than almost any other in Christian Europe and every language reshaped it: Pierre, Pedro, Pietro, Piotr, Pyotr, Peadar, Petur, Petar. The South Slavic Petar was borne by tsars of Bulgaria and by Petar II Petrovic-Njegos, prince-bishop of Montenegro and author of The Mountain Wreath, one of the central works of Serbian literature. American records show Petar with Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian migration, peaking in the late 1960s with a generation of American-born children of post-war arrivals.
Meaning
stone, rock
Greek petros means a stone and petra a rock; the Gospels report that Jesus gave Simon the Aramaic name Kephas, also meaning rock, and the pun in Matthew — you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church — works in Greek and in Aramaic. Petar is the Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form. The derivation is settled and is one of the very few that scripture explains directly.
How the name formed
- Kephas
- Petros
- Petrus
- Petar
Related forms: Petar · Petar · Pyotr · Pedro · Pietro
Pronouncing Petar
PEH-tar
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a lightly tapped r and both vowels fully sounded. English speakers often reduce the second syllable, PET-er, which turns the name into the English Peter.
Nicknames for Petar
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1963
- Most boys named
- 200621 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2109reached in 1968
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%14 in 2025, from 14
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Petar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Petar in Serbian — same name
- Petar in Croatian — same name
- Pyotr in Russian — related form
- Pedro in Spanish — related form
- Pietro in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Illinois.
Petars among us
people named Petar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was named Petar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Vandy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Petar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Vandy climbed just as high around 1950, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Vandy's path sketches the road Petar is walking now.
Petar sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Petar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Petar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, concrete and explained in scripture itself.
- Pete is a universally understood short form.
- The spelling is short and needs no accents.
- It is constantly reduced to Peter by English speakers.
- The second vowel is fully sounded in Slavic and reduced in English.
- It is rare enough in the United States to be spelled out routinely.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Petar to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Petar? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Petar
Masculine · #6143 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Petars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Petar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Petar in 2025?
- Petar ranks #6143 among US boy names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Petar?
- About 1 in every 122,005 US boys born in 2025 was named Petar — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Petar with classmates?
- Petar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Petar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruel#6143 · Cornell#6143 · Vasco#6143 · Kemper#6143 · Yates#6143 · Roark#6143 · Raja#6143 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Petar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Petar and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle