Mats vs Petter
Mats and Pettercompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Mats was ranked #228 and Petter #146 among boys in Norway.
Mats and Petter over time
Mats and Petter appear together in 1 published list, across 74 years of shared records. Petter held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Mats in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Mats reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Petter in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Mats and Petter changed places 12 times in Norway · Boys between 1949 and 2025, ending at #228 and #146.
- Longest-running competitions
Mats and Petter were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 74 years, from 1949 to 2025, ending at #228 and #146.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Norway · Boys within 2 years — Mats #21 in 1989, Petter #28 in 1990.
List by list
Norway · Boys74 shared years, 1949–2025
Mats held the stronger position in 25 of those years, Petter in 49.
Highest recorded here: Mats #21 in 1989, Petter #28 in 1990.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Mats #228, Petter #146.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Mats | Petter |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, NO | NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #228 (2025) | Norway · Boys #146 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 88/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 60/100 | 40/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Mats has 1 syllable, compared with 2 for Petter.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Mats
Popularity journey
First recorded1949
First recorded at #330 among boys in Norway in 1949 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1949–2025
Highest recorded position: #21 among boys in Norway, in 1989 (recorded 1949–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #228 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Petter
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #100 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #28 among boys in Norway, in 1990 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #146 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys