Boys' name · peaked in 1908
Pete name popularity since 1925
33,921 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Pete. Half of them were born in 1954 or earlier, so the typical Pete is about 72 years old in 2026. Pete peaked in 1908 as the #173 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 33,921
- Named Pete, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1908
- #173 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,382 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 132 girls · 33,789 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 8.23× its national share
Peak year is the year Pete made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Pete births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1959. Measured as a share of all babies, Pete peaked earlier, in 1908.
- Steepest fall: Between 1947 and 1952, Pete's share of baby boys fell by 36%, from 1 in 2,480 to 1 in 3,860.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Pete's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Pete.
Decade by decade
Babies named Pete in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 25 | 3,086 | – |
| 1930s | 26 | 5,529 | #204 |
| 1940s | 19 | 6,130 | #234 |
| 1950s | 10 | 5,926 | #310 |
| 1960s | 21 | 5,153 | #362 |
| 1970s | 31 | 2,854 | #498 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,964 | #650 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,339 | #1,025 |
| 2000s | 0 | 893 | #1,689 |
| 2010s | 0 | 599 | #2,202 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 316 | #2,382 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
34.9% of babies named Pete from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Pete is most popular
The index compares Pete's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Pete.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 8.23× | 1,353 |
| Texas | 2.92× | 6,809 |
| Arizona | 2.89× | 1,114 |
| Colorado | 2.88× | 1,058 |
| California | 1.61× | 5,088 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Pete's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Pete.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Pete (1908).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data