Petro
From Greek, meaning "rock", "boulder", or "stone".
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Petro. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Petro today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Petro births was 1971 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Petro. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Petro. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
1971
11 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,533
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Petro: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Petro from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Petro 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 Petro 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 Petro
The name Petro has its origins in Greek, derived from the word "petros" meaning "rock" or "stone." It was initially a masculine form of the name Peter, which is derived from the same root. The name gained prominence in the early Christian era and is closely associated with the apostle Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Petro dates back to the 1st century AD, when it was borne by early Christian saints and martyrs. One of the most notable figures was Saint Petronilla, a legendary virgin martyr who was believed to have been the daughter of the apostle Peter. Her feast day is celebrated on May 31st in the Catholic Church.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Petro was widely used, and several prominent figures bore this name. One of the most famous was Petro Balsamon, a 12th-century canonical scholar and patriarch of Antioch, who played a significant role in the development of Byzantine canon law.
During the Middle Ages, the name Petro was popular in various European regions, particularly in Italy and Eastern Europe. One notable bearer was Petro Jacobo Calefati, an Italian painter and architect who lived in the 15th century and was known for his works in churches and public buildings.
In the 16th century, Petro Aron Chodkiewicz was a renowned military leader and hetman (commander-in-chief) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He is celebrated for his victories against the Muscovite forces during the Polish-Muscovite War (1577–1582).
Another noteworthy figure was Petro Mohyla, a prominent Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych, and All Rus' in the 17th century. He played a crucial role in the revival of Orthodox education and culture in the region and was a key figure in the establishment of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe.
The name Petro has also been associated with various political and cultural figures throughout history. One example is Petro Luzhny, a Ukrainian writer, poet, and translator who lived in the 19th century and made significant contributions to the development of Ukrainian literature and language.
While the name Petro has maintained its popularity in certain regions, particularly in Eastern Europe and parts of Southern Europe, it has also been adopted and adapted in various cultures and languages around the world, reflecting the global influence of Christianity and the enduring legacy of the apostle Peter.
People
Petro + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Petro 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
Petro: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Petro?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Petro 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Petro a common name?
We classify Petro as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Petro most popular?
The single biggest year for Petro was 1971, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Petro is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Petro a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Petro 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.
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.