Английский Этимологический словарь - peter

- from L. Petrus, from Gk. Petros, lit. "stone, rock," translation of Syriac kefa "stone" (Cephas), nickname Jesus gave to apostle Simon Bar-Jona (Matt. xvi:17). The common form of this very common name in medieval England was Peres (M.Fr. Piers), hence surnames Pierce, Pearson, etc. Among the dim. forms were Parkin and Perkin. Petronilla, fem. dim. of L. Petronius, "was the name of a saint much-invoked against fevers and regarded as a daughter of St. Peter. The name was accordingly regarded to be a derivative of Peter and became one of the most popular of girls' names, the vernacular Parnell being still used as a christian name as late as the 18th century in Cornwall." [Reaney] To peter out "become exhausted," is 1846 as miners' slang, from earlier to peter "cease, stop," 1812, of uncertain origin. Slang for "penis" is attested from 1902, probably from identity of first syllable.