| Peter | Philip | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Rock, stone | Lover of horses |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | PEE-ter | FIL-ip |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1957 (11,603) | 1953 (6,279) |
| In 2025 | 1,954 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Peter | Philip |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,923 | 3,713 |
| 2010s | 18,725 | 7,216 |
| 2000s | 26,136 | 10,193 |
| 1990s | 42,394 | 20,460 |
| 1980s | 56,713 | 35,733 |
| 1970s | 62,320 | 31,367 |
| 1960s | 92,418 | 44,780 |
| 1950s | 102,747 | 60,853 |
| 1940s | 69,330 | 48,735 |
| 1930s | 35,822 | 28,847 |
| 1920s | 34,066 | 27,268 |
| 1910s | 24,935 | 18,166 |
| 1900s | 4,375 | 2,817 |
| 1890s | 4,028 | 2,147 |
| 1880s | 4,656 | 1,741 |
From the Greek petros, “rock.” Jesus renames the apostle Simon as Peter, the rock of the church.
From the Greek Philippos, combining philos 'loving, dear, friend' with hippos 'horse' — literally 'lover of horses', not 'lover' in general. The phil- element genuinely means love/affection, but note the object is horses.
Peter is more popular than Philip today: about 1,954 US babies were given the name Peter in 2025, compared with 0 named Philip.
Peter means Rock, stone (Greek origin), while Philip means Lover of horses (greek origin).
In US records, Peter first appears in 1880 and Philip in 0, so Philip has the longer recorded history.