How Many People Are Named Pete?
An estimated 21,162 people in the United States have the first name Pete. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 60 years old, and Pete peaked in popularity in 1959 with 768 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Pete as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Pete paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Pete is overwhelmingly male, 170 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
21,162
About 1 in 16,197 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
60
years old
Peak Year
1959
768 births
Total Registered
43,644
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Pete
Pete is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 43,644 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Pete as a male name
Ranked #3,076 in 2024
40 male births in 2024
Peak: 1959 (768 births)
Pete as a female name
Ranked #10,946 in 1978
5 female births in 1978
Peak: 1977 (9 births)
Pete: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Pete span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 6,332 babies were registered. Pete has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Pete by Decade
How has Pete tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 590 | 590 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 651 | 651 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 949 | 949 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 4,368 | 4,352 | 16 | |
| 1920s | 6,332 | 6,285 | 47 | |
| 1930s | 5,555 | 5,529 | 26 | |
| 1940s | 6,149 | 6,130 | 19 | |
| 1950s | 5,938 | 5,928 | 10 | |
| 1960s | 5,174 | 5,153 | 21 | |
| 1970s | 2,886 | 2,855 | 31 | |
| 1980s | 1,964 | 1,964 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 1,338 | 1,338 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 893 | 893 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 599 | 599 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 258 | 258 | 0 | |
Pete by State
Birth registrations for Pete span all 45 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Maine, South Dakota, Nevada. On average, about 810 Petes were registered per state.
Pete + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Pete as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Pete
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Pete: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pete?
We estimate approximately 21,162 people named Pete are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 16,197 Americans share this first name.
Is Pete a common name?
Pete is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 43,644 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Pete most popular?
Pete reached peak popularity in 1959, when 768 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Pete is approximately 60 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Pete a male name?
Pete is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Pete Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Pete Smith, Pete Johnson, Pete Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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