Pierre
/pjɛʁ/noun
A French masculine given name meaning “stone” or “rock,” and also the French word for “stone.”
Did you know?Pierre is the French form of Peter, ultimately from Greek petros, the same ancient root behind words like petroleum and petrify—language literally built around rock.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peḱ-
“to split, to cut”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πέτρος (petros)
“stone, rock”
Late Latin
Latin
Petrus
“Peter, the apostle’s name”
Old French
Old French
Pierre
“Peter; also stone”
Modern French
French
pierre
“stone”
Modern English
English
Pierre
“French given name”