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    The surname Peterson

    A patronymic surname, the 71st most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈpitɚsən/ 3 syllables Soundex P362 Also a first name

    Peterson: #71 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Peterson #71, 278,297 people Peterson: #71 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Peterson #71, 278,297 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Peterson is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    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.

    Peterson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 278,297 people named Peterson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,109 Americans. That is up 1.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 275,041.

    #71
    rank among US surnames
    278,297
    people in 2010
    94
    per 100,000 Americans
    +1.2%
    change since 2000 (was #63)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #62Morris318,884968
    #63Morales311,777990
    #64Murphy308,4171,001
    #65Cook302,5891,020
    #66Rogers302,2611,021
    #67Gutierrez293,2181,053
    #68Ortiz286,8991,076

    Who is named Peterson

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

    84% of people named Peterson identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Petersons

    44 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Cassandra Peterson
      American actress, born 1951
    • Amanda Peterson
      American actress (1971-2015)
    • Donald H. Peterson
      American astronaut (1933–2018)
    • Bob Peterson
      American actor, writer, and director, born 1961
    • Adrian Peterson
      American football player (born 1985)
    • David J. Peterson
      American conlanger, writer, and artist (born 1981)
    • Debbi Peterson
      American musician, born 1961
    • Eric Peterson
      American guitarist, born 1964
    • Vicki Peterson
      American musician, born 1958
    • Dorothy Peterson
      Actress (1897-1979)
    • Jeret Peterson
      Aerial skier, 1981–2011
    • Carla Peterson
      Argentine actress, born 1974

    Notable Petersons come mostly from the United States (42), Argentina (1) and Canada (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Peterson

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

    Questions

    Where does the surname Peterson come from?
    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.
    How common is the surname Peterson?
    278,297 people in the United States had the surname Peterson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,109 Americans. It ranked 71st of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Peterson?
    In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Peterson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Peterson?
    Cassandra Peterson, American actress, followed by Amanda Peterson.
    Where is the surname Peterson most common?
    Wikidata records people named Peterson in the United States, Argentina and Canada.
    How do you pronounce Peterson?
    Peterson is /ˈpitɚsən/, 3 syllables.
    What type of surname is Peterson?
    Peterson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Peterson getting more or less common?
    More common. 275,041 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 278,297 in 2010, up 1.2%.
    Is Peterson also a first name?
    Yes. Peterson is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.