Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived, via Latin "petra", from the Greek word πέτρος (petros) meaning "stone" or "rock".
According to the New Testament, Jesus gave Saint Peter (whose given name was Simon) the name Kephas or Cephas meaning "stone" in Aramaic. Saint Peter, according to ancient tradition, became the first bishop of Rome. Roman Catholics consider him to have been the first Pope and all subsequent popes to have been his successors, and therefore sometimes refer to the Pope or the Papacy itself as Peter.
Famous quotes containing the word peter:
“Travel is like adultery: one is always tempted to be unfaithful to one’s own country. To have imagination is inevitably to be dissatisfied with where you live. There is in men, as Peter Quennell said, “a centrifugal tendency.” In our wanderlust, we are lovers looking for consummation.”
—Anatole Broyard (1910–1990)