# Peterson (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/peterson/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A patrilineal surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 278,297 |
| US rank (2010) | 71 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,109 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.2% (275,041 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpitɚsən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

English, Scottish, and German surname, from Peter + -son. Found parallel in many other languages, such as Norwegian and Danish Pedersen, Pettersen, Polish Piotrowicz, Slovene Petrič, Petrovčič, Petrovič, Petric, Petrovic, etc. Also Americanized from Swedish Petersson, Pettersson.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Peterson in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 84% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 10% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Peterson in the United States, Argentina and Canada.

## People named Peterson

- Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- Amanda Peterson, American actress (1971-2015)
- Donald H. Peterson, American astronaut (1933–2018)
- Bob Peterson, American actor, writer, and director
- Adrian Peterson, American football player (born 1985)
- David J. Peterson, American conlanger, writer, and artist (born 1981)
- Debbi Peterson, American musician
- Eric Peterson, American guitarist
- Vicki Peterson, American musician
- Dorothy Peterson, actress (1897-1979)
- Jeret Peterson, aerial skier
- Carla Peterson, Argentine actress

and 32 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Patterson, Petersen, Pedersen, Pederson, Paterson, Petterson, Pettersen, Peters, Petrosky, Peterkin, Petersheim, Petrus.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.