How common is the surname Pedersen?

20,135 people in the United States had the surname Pedersen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,334 Americans. It ranked 1,780th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Pedersen?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Pedersen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Pedersen?

Charles J. Pedersen, American organic chemist, followed by Susan Pedersen.

Where is the surname Pedersen most common?

Wikidata records people named Pedersen in the United States.

Is the surname Pedersen getting more or less common?

More common. 19,510 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,135 in 2010, up 3.2%.

The surname Pedersen

A Danish surname, carried by 20,135 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex P362

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Pedersen is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

Danish origin

* As a Danish and Norwegian surname, borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Pedersen. Compare Petersen. * As an English surname, variant of Peterson.

One of 50 Danish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 20,135 people named Pedersen in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 15,334 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 19,510.

#1,780

rank among US surnames

20,135

people in 2010

6.8

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,683)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,772	Hackett	20,278	15,226
#1,773	Posey	20,263	15,237
#1,774	Fountain	20,193	15,290
#1,775	Cornelius	20,160	15,315
#1,777	Barnhart	20,157	15,317
#1,778	Rendon	20,143	15,328
#1,779	Hannah	20,138	15,331

Who is named Pedersen

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Pedersen identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.7% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Pedersens

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Charles J. Pedersen
American organic chemist, 1904–1989
Susan Pedersen
American swimmer, born 1953
Kayla Pedersen
American basketball player (born 1989)
Chris Pedersen
American musician, actor, NASCAR racer and autonomous vehicle builder, born 1963
Herb Pedersen
American musician and singer-songwriter, born 1944

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Pedersen

Pedersen has the Soundex code P362, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P362.

Other Danish surnames

All 50 Danish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Pedersen come from?: * As a Danish and Norwegian surname, borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Pedersen. Compare Petersen. * As an English surname, variant of Peterson.
How common is the surname Pedersen?: 20,135 people in the United States had the surname Pedersen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,334 Americans. It ranked 1,780th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Pedersen?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Pedersen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Pedersen?: Charles J. Pedersen, American organic chemist, followed by Susan Pedersen.
Where is the surname Pedersen most common?: Wikidata records people named Pedersen in the United States.
Is the surname Pedersen getting more or less common?: More common. 19,510 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,135 in 2010, up 3.2%.