Peterson
A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Peter.”
The #71 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,109 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Peterson is a patronymic built from the personal name Peter plus the suffix -son, meaning “son of.” In plain sense, it originally identified someone as Peter’s son or descendant. The surname also appears in Scandinavian form as Petersen, reflecting the same meaning with a different spelling tradition.
History
The name is widespread in English-speaking countries because Peter was a very common Christian baptismal name, especially after the medieval period. Historical surname dictionaries also note Scandinavian and Dutch forms such as Petersen and Peeters, which helped reinforce the name’s broad distribution. In Britain, Peterson sits alongside related surnames like Peters, Patterson, and Pedersen as part of a large family of Peter-based names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Peter was such a popular given name, a whole cluster of surnames developed from it across Europe, including Peterson, Patterson, Petersen, and Pedersen.
From the historical record
“PETERS, Peter's (Son) \ PETERSON, Peter's Son ( ^' *^^^^'^- PETERSEN, the Scand. form of Peterson, q.v. PETHER, a West. Eng. and Corn, form of Peter, q.v. PETHERICK = Pether (Peter), q.v. + the Corn. dini. sufi. -ik. PETHERIDGE, a palatal form of Petherick,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)