Peri
A Persian feminine name meaning fairy or supernatural being.
Name Census estimates that about 2,232 living Americans carry the first name Peri. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Peri today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peri births was 1960 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peri. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Peri with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 153,564 Americans
Peak year
1960
97 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1960 SSA rank
#4,457
Tracked since 1936
Census
Peri in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,269 people with the first name Peri, which placed it at #6,906 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
#6,906
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,269 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peri
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Peri is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Peri 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 Peri at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 1,900
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 99
- Black or African American4.2% · 96
- Two or more races4.2% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Peri
Out of the 2,452 babies given the name Peri since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Peri as a male name
- Ranked #4,457 in 1960
- 5 male births in 1960
- Peak: 1959 (5 births)
Peri as a female name
- Ranked #5,386 in 2024
- 24 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1960 (92 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Peri leans strongly female. 2,179 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 94 male bearers (4.1%).
Popularity
Peri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peri from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 499 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Peri remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peri 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 Peri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Peris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Peri, while Pennsylvania, Colorado, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Peri
The name Peri is believed to have its origins in the Persian language, where it means "fairy" or "supernatural being." It dates back to ancient Persia, which is now modern-day Iran, and was likely used as a name for children who were considered particularly beautiful or enchanting.
In Persian mythology, peris were depicted as benevolent, fairy-like creatures who lived in a parallel world and could interact with humans. They were often associated with nature and were believed to have magical powers. The name Peri may have been given to children in the hope that they would be blessed with the qualities of these mythical beings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peri appears in the epic poem Shahnameh, written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. In the poem, Peri is mentioned as the name of a beautiful princess who was sought after by many suitors.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Peri. One of the most famous was Peri Bon, a 13th-century mystic and poet from Persia who wrote extensively about Sufism and spiritual enlightenment. Her works were widely read and influential in the Islamic world.
Another notable Peri was Peri Khan Khanum, a 16th-century Mughal princess who was known for her extraordinary beauty and intelligence. She was the daughter of Emperor Akbar and played an important role in the political and cultural life of the Mughal Empire.
In the 19th century, Peri was the name of a famous Iranian actress and dancer, Peri Banoo, who performed in the court of the Qajar dynasty. She was renowned for her grace and talent and was considered one of the most celebrated performers of her time.
In more recent times, Peri Pouran was an Iranian painter and sculptor who lived from 1910 to 1992. She was a pioneer of modern art in Iran and is remembered for her innovative use of traditional Persian motifs and techniques in her works.
Another notable Peri was Peri Avraham, an Israeli writer and activist who was born in 1933. She was a prominent figure in the struggle for women's rights and worked tirelessly to promote peace and understanding between different cultures.
People
Peri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peri 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
Peri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peri 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 153,564 US residents.
Is Peri a common name?
We classify Peri as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,452 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peri most popular?
The single biggest year for Peri was 1960, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peri is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Peri in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,269 people with the name Peri, or 0.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,906 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 Peri 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 Peri?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Peri leans strongly female. 2,179 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 94 male bearers (4.1%). 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 Peri?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Peri is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Peri most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Peri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (1,900 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 Peri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Peri a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Peri in the SSA data are female. 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 Peri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Peri 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 Peri 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 Peri?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.