UK boy's name
Pieter
A masculine name of Dutch origin meaning "rockman" or "rock".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2017. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Pieter is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Pieter popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2017 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3996, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2004, with 7 births.
This profile covers 73 England and Wales registrations across 16 recorded years from 1997 to 2017. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 57% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 75 living people in the UK are called Pieter. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2018 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Pieter ranked #3996 for boys in England and Wales in 2017, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2004, when 7 boys were registered as Pieter.
- • Pieter ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #733 in 2017.
- • About 75 living people in the UK are estimated to have Pieter as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3996
2017
Births in 2017
4
Latest year
Peak year
2004
7 births
Estimated living
75
2026
Meaning
What does Pieter mean?
Pieter is a masculine given name derived from the Greek name Petros, which means "rock" or "stone". It is the Dutch and Frisian form of the name Peter. The name traces its origins back to ancient Greece and the New Testament of the Bible, where one of Jesus Christ's apostles was named Petros.
The name Pieter was widely used in the Netherlands and surrounding regions during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. It gained widespread popularity in the 17th century, particularly among the Dutch Protestant community. The Dutch Masters, a group of painters who rose to prominence during the Dutch Golden Age, included several notable figures with the name Pieter.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569), a renowned Flemish Renaissance painter known for his vivid depictions of peasant life and landscapes. His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638), also became a successful painter, carrying on his father's artistic legacy.
Another celebrated Dutch artist was Pieter Saenredam (1597-1665), a painter renowned for his meticulously detailed interior scenes of churches and cathedrals. Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (1581-1647) was a prominent Dutch historian, poet, and playwright who played a significant role in shaping the Dutch Golden Age literary tradition.
Pieter Stuyvesant (1592-1672) was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland, which later became New York. He is remembered for his efforts in fortifying and developing the colony, as well as his contentious relationship with the local population.
Beyond the arts and literature, the name Pieter has been borne by notable figures in various fields. Pieter Zeeman (1865-1943) was a Dutch physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1902 for his discovery of the Zeeman effect, a phenomenon that occurs when spectral lines are split by an external magnetic field.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Pieter, highlighting its rich cultural heritage and enduring legacy across various domains.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Pieter over time
The chart below shows babies named Pieter registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2017. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Pieter, the clearest high point is 2004. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2017, compared with 7 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pieter by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Pieter was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #3814 | 21 | 5 |
| 2000s | #2788 | 40 | 8 |
| 1990s | #2458 | 12 | 3 |
Geography
Where Pieter is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Pieter. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Pieter ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #733 in 2017.
Across the UK
Pieter in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#733 in 2017
1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Pieter
-
Pieter van Andel
rower
Dutch rower
1969-
-
Pieter Varekamp
journalist; documentarian
Dutch journalist (1942–2020)
1942-2020
-
Pieter Jan Wilhelmus Schilperoord
1911-1987
-
Pieter de Molijn
art dealer; deacon; painter; editor; draftsperson; printmaker; landscape painter; etcher
painter and engraver (1595-1661)
1595-1661
Related
Names similar to Pieter
- Patrick 17,559
- Peter 13,150
- Paul 8,542
- Philip 4,997
- Parker 4,664
- Phoenix 3,865
- Preston 3,370
- Prince 1,782
- Patryk 1,763
- Phillip 1,697
- Percy 1,395
- Perry 1,015
FAQ
Pieter: questions and answers
How popular is the name Pieter in the UK right now?
In 2017, Pieter was ranked #3996 for boys in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Pieter most popular?
The peak year on record was 2004, with 7 babies registered as Pieter in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Pieter?
A masculine name of Dutch origin meaning "rockman" or "rock".
How many people are called Pieter in the UK?
A total of 73 babies have been registered as Pieter across the 16 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.
Where is Pieter most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Pieter ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #733 in 2017. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.