| Peter | Luke | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Rock, stone | From Lucania; light |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | PEE-ter | LOOK |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1957 (11,603) | 2014 (10,523) |
| In 2025 | 1,954 | 6,948 |
| Trend | Steady | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Peter | Luke |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,923 | 44,149 |
| 2010s | 18,725 | 93,274 |
| 2000s | 26,136 | 90,506 |
| 1990s | 42,394 | 44,434 |
| 1980s | 56,713 | 27,044 |
| 1970s | 62,320 | 10,283 |
| 1960s | 92,418 | 4,071 |
| 1950s | 102,747 | 2,308 |
| 1940s | 69,330 | 1,298 |
| 1930s | 35,822 | 1,269 |
| 1920s | 34,066 | 1,699 |
| 1910s | 24,935 | 1,343 |
| 1900s | 4,375 | 498 |
| 1890s | 4,028 | 402 |
| 1880s | 4,656 | 442 |
From the Greek petros, “rock.” Jesus renames the apostle Simon as Peter, the rock of the church.
Luke is the English form of the Greek Loukas, “from Lucania,” a region of southern Italy. Luke the Evangelist, a physician, wrote the third Gospel and the Book of Acts.
Luke is more popular than Peter today: about 6,948 US babies were given the name Luke in 2025, compared with 1,954 named Peter.
Peter means Rock, stone (Greek origin), while Luke means From Lucania; light (Greek origin).
In US records, Peter first appears in 1880 and Luke in 1880, so Peter has the longer recorded history.