Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Pete?
Births per year, rank history and how many Petes are alive today.
Pete (male) is a shortened form of the name Peter. Pete itself was last registered for 3 babies in 2019; most Petes are registered as Peter, which ranked 287th in 2025 with 158 babies.
Most people called Pete are registered as Peter, and share that name's profile: the Peter you are most likely to meet is around 79 years old. Half of all Peters born in England and Wales are between 57 and 80, and there are at least 460,000 of them alive today. Only some Peters go by Pete.
How many babies are named Pete or Peter each year?
Combined registrations of Peter, Pete. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Peter rank as a registered name?
Where does Pete rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Pete short for Peter?
Yes - Pete is a shortened form of Peter. Petes are usually registered as Peter at birth.
When was the name Pete most popular?
The full name Peter peaked in 1934, when around 18,500 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Pete itself peaked as a registered name in 2007, with 5 babies.
How many people are called Pete?
There's no official count of people who go by Pete, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 460,000 people registered as Peter born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Pete.
How old is the typical Pete?
Most people called Pete are registered as Peter. Most living Peters are between 57 and 80; the most common age is about 79.
Is Pete becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1934 peak.