Per
A masculine Scandinavian name derived from a Norse word meaning "rock" or "stone".
Name Census estimates that about 325 living Americans carry the first name Per. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Per today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Per births was 1963 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Per. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
325
~ 1 in 1,054,629 Americans
Peak year
1963
14 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,551
Tracked since 1923
Census
Per in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,479 people with the first name Per, which placed it at #2,994 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,994
National first-name rank
People counted
7.5K
7,479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Per
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Per is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.9%) and Black (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Per described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Per at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.8% · 3,798
- Hispanic or Latino22.9% · 1,714
- Black or African American14.9% · 1,115
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.8% · 661
- Two or more races1.5% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 77
Popularity
Per: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Per from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Per by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Per during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Per
The name Per is derived from the Latin word 'Petrus', which means 'rock' or 'stone'. It is believed to have originated from the Ancient Greek name 'Petros', which also carries the same meaning. The name Per is predominantly found in Scandinavian countries, particularly in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
During the Middle Ages, the name Per gained popularity across Northern Europe, possibly due to the influence of the Catholic Church and the veneration of Saint Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The name was widely used among Christians in the region, and it is believed that it was introduced to Scandinavia through Christian missionaries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Per can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which date back to the 13th century. The Saga of Erik the Red, for example, mentions a character named Per Eindridisson, who was a prominent chieftain in Greenland during the late 10th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Per. One of the most famous was Per Brahe (1520-1590), a Swedish nobleman and statesman who served as the Lord High Constable of Sweden during the reign of King Gustav I. Another prominent figure was Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom (1790-1855), a Swedish Romantic poet and philosopher who played a significant role in the Swedish literary movement known as the Gothic Renaissance.
In the field of science, Per Teodor Cleve (1840-1905) was a Swedish chemist who discovered the elements holmium and thulium. Per Albin Hansson (1885-1946), on the other hand, was a Swedish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1932 to 1946 and played a crucial role in establishing the Swedish welfare state.
The name Per has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry. Per Olov Enquist (1934-2020) was a Swedish author and playwright known for his works exploring themes of identity and belonging. Per Gedda (1944-2011) was a Swedish operatic tenor who had a successful international career, performing in major opera houses around the world.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Per. While its popularity has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, the name continues to be widely used in Scandinavia, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and historical significance.
People
Per + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Per as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Per: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Per?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 325 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Per going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,054,629 US residents.
Is Per a common name?
We classify Per as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Per most popular?
The single biggest year for Per was 1963, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Per is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Per in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,479 people with the name Per, or 2.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,994 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Per in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Per?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Per on both sides of the split. Of the 7,475 people counted with this name, 4,334 were male (58.0%) and 3,141 were female (42.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Per?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Per is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.9%) and Black (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Per most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Per in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.8% (3,798 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Per in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Per a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Per in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Per still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Per in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Per can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Per?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Per on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.