How popular is the baby name Peter in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Peter.

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Popularity of the baby name Peter


Posts that mention the name Peter

Name quotes #111

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Here’s the latest batch of name-related quotes…

From the lighthearted obituary of Lindy Gene Rollins (1928-2022) in the Amarillo Globe-News:

He had a lifelong obsession with airplanes which should not be a surprise since he was named after Charles Lindbergh (Lucky Lindy) the first U.S. pilot credited with making a solo, nonstop transatlantic flight. Lindy went on to take flying lessons after he retired as a diesel mechanic. Thankfully, he was not granted his pilot’s license due to his age and the medications he was on. No one in the family would have been brave enough to ride in an airplane he was piloting anyway!

From the book Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World (1999) by David Sheff, an account of the Nintendo of America staff — working out of a warehouse in Washington state — preparing the video game Donkey Kong (1981) for the U.S. market:

They were trying to decide what to call the rotund, red-capped carpenter, when there was a knock on the door.

[Minoru] Arakawa answered it. Standing there was the owner of the warehouse. In front of everyone, he blasted Arakawa because the rent was late. Flustered, Arakawa promised that the money was forthcoming, and the man left.

The landlord’s name was Mario Segali [sic]. “Mario,” they decided. “Super Mario!”

(The landlord’s surname was actually spelled Segale. And, if you’re remembering the video game character as a plumber instead of a carpenter, you’re right — his occupation was changed for later games.)

From Ed Sikov’s 2007 book Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis (spotted while doing research for the Stanley Ann post):

Manly names for women were all the rage [in Hollywood movies] in 1941: Hedy Lamarr was a Johnny and a Marvin that year, and the eponymous heroines of Frank Borzage’s Seven Sweethearts were called Victor, Albert, Reggie, Peter, Billie, George, and most outrageous of all, Cornelius.

From “How To Cope With Your Video Game Inspired Name” by Sephiroth Hernandez, whose first name was inspired by the Final Fantasy VII villain:

You need to understand why your parents gave you that name. It’s because they lack common sense. It probably came from playing video games all the time.

[…]

Deep inside, you possess the ability to make more of your name than you think you could. You are cursed of course, but you are blessed with an understanding that few people have. Your name doesn’t define you. You define you. Just love yourself and love others. That’s all I can say.

(Sephiroth has been appearing in the U.S. baby name data since 2004.)

From the footnote of a 1941 Time article about Wyllis Cooper (born Willis Cooper), creator of the late ’40s radio show Quiet, Please!:

He changed his name from Willis to Wyllis to please his wife’s numerological inclinations.

(Incidentally, “Willis” reduces to 3, whereas “Wyllis” reduces to 1.)

How did Virna Lisi influence baby names in the 1960s?

Italian actress Virna Lisi (1936-2014)
Virna Lisi

When Italian actress Virna Lisi started appearing in American films in the mid-1960s, American audiences took notice.

How do we know? Well, the baby name Lisi appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the first time in 1965, and, the same year, the baby name Virna re-emerged in the data (after a decades-long absence) with its highest-ever usage.

Girls named VirnaGirls named Lisi
196721.
1966115
196538†8*
1964..
1963..
*Debut, †Peak usage

(It should be noted, of course, that Lisa was the #1 baby name in the nation from 1962 to 1969. No doubt this made the similar — but much rarer — name Lisi sound rather stylish during that decade.)

Virna Lisi was born Virna Lisa Pieralisi in Ancona, Italy, in 1936.

Her father had wanted to call her Siria (“Syria”), but that country’s colonial ruler, France, was at loggerheads with Mussolini and the births registrar accordingly refused to accept the name. The exasperated Pieralisi then made up Virna on the spot.

She started acting as a teenager in Italy, and her success in Italian films eventually led to a brief Hollywood career. She appeared in How to Murder Your Wife (1965) with Jack Lemmon, Not With My Wife You Don’t (1966) with Tony Curtis, and Assault on a Queen (1966) with Frank Sinatra.

But Lisi disliked her “sex symbol” image in America. So she decided to leave. She turned down the lead role in Barbarella, terminated her Hollywood contract, and returned to Europe to play a wider range of characters.

What are your thoughts on the names Virna and Lisi? Which one would you be more likely to use on a modern-day baby?

P.S. Italian actress Anna Maria Pierangeli — better known as Pier Angeli — also had a surname that began with “Pier” (the Italian form of Peter).

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of How to Murder Your Wife

Popular baby names in Peru, 2020

Flag of Peru
Flag of Peru

According to Peru’s National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC), the most popular baby names in the country last year were Mia and Liam.

Peru released a single set of rankings that combined both genders, so here are Peru’s top 20 baby names overall for 2020:

  1. Liam, 4,179 babies
  2. Thiago, 3,398
  3. Dylan, 3,150
  4. Mia, 2,510
  5. Gael, 2,484
  6. Camila, 1,929
  7. Alessia, 1,856
  8. Luciana, 1,838
  9. Mateo, 1,837
  10. Zoe, 1,530
  11. Ian, 1,458
  12. Luis, 1,374
  13. Valentina, 1,335
  14. Aitana, 1,298
  15. Danna, 1,295
  16. Lucas, 1,248 (tie)
  17. Santiago, 1,248 (tie)
  18. Luana, 1,239
  19. Juan, 1,228
  20. Ariana, 1,213

I haven’t been able to track down Peru’s rankings for 2019, but in 2018 the top two names were the same.

RENIEC regularly tweets about Peru’s unusual baby names, so I can also tell you that, within the last few years, the country has welcomed babies named…

  • Lapadula (15 babies) + Gianluca Lapadula (4)
  • Peter Parker (5) + Spiderman (1)
  • Gareca (3)
    • after former Argentine soccer player Ricardo Gareca, who now manages Peru’s national team
  • Mark Zuckerberg (2)
  • Bo-derek (1) + Boderek (1)
  • Bad Bunny
  • Beethovena
  • Gremlins
  • Kardasham
  • Neilamstrong
  • Netflix
  • Philcollins
  • Pringles
  • Rafael Nadal

Finally, Peru has put together several cool online booklets (PDFs) highlighting the names and naming practices of various indigenous groups within the country, so here’s a sampling of names from each of the booklets…

  • Aimara names:
    • Amuyiri, “thinker”
    • Iqilla, “flower”
    • Phuyo, “bird feather”
    • Qhispi, “quartz, rock crystal, transparent object, mirror”
    • Thalutari, “calming, lulling”
  • Asháninkas names:
    • Chabaka, species of toucan
    • Kamore, “galaxy, milky way”
    • Manchori, “herbalist”
    • Sabaro, species of parrot
    • Yonamine, “act of looking at you”
  • Awajún names:
    • Esámat, “heal the wound”
    • Nanchíjam, “little bird that eats rice”
    • Púmpuk, owl species
    • Tíi, “hard as stone” (implies stoicism)
    • Úum, “blowgun”
  • Jaqaru names:
    • Kukiri, “pigeon, dove”
    • Nup’i, “the heat that is received from the sun’s rays”
    • Pajshi, “moon”
    • Qajsiri, “waterfall”
    • Waraja, “star”
  • Matsés names:
    • Badi
    • Chidopiu
    • Didu
    • Mëbu
    • Tamu
  • Quechua names:
    • Liwyaq, “lightning”
    • Qullqi, gold or silver metal
    • Waqra, “horn”
    • Willka, “sun”
    • Yaku, “water”
  • Shipibo-Konibo names:
    • Biri, “dazzling”
    • Kesin, “strip; fine and transparent banana fiber”
    • Panshin, “yellow”
    • Xeka, “vanilla”
    • Wasan, “puffin”
  • Wampís names:
    • Apaape, “elusive”
    • Chunchumanch, “snail”
    • Dekentai, “bruise” (implies strength)
    • Mamainkur, “yucca flower”
    • Pamau, “tapir”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Peru (public domain)

Baby name story: Frederica

Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815)
Battle of Waterloo

Peter McMullen of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, was seriously wounded at the Battle of Waterloo while serving with the 27th Foot.

“Incredibly, his heavily pregnant wife Elizabeth was watching the battle nearby and, fearing her husband was dead, she rushed into the midst of bodies.” She found Peter still (barely) alive, and attempted to carry him off the active battlefield, despite her condition. As she did this, she was shot in the leg with a musket ball.

After the battle, both Peter and Elizabeth were taken to a hospital in Antwerp, where Peter lost both of his arms due to injuries.

They were then transported to a hospital in Chelsea. While recuperating at the English hospital, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl.

Prince Frederick — the Duke of York, and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army — heard about the couple, and visited them at the hospital. While there, he agreed to be the baby’s godfather. And so the newborn “was christened Frederica McMullen of Waterloo” in his honor.

Sources: