2000
#543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,185
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.46
Uncommon Last name
Petersen
Son of Peter, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Peter, meaning "rock" or "stone."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 67,525 Americans carry the last name Petersen. That puts it at #563 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,076 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petersen surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Petersen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
68K
1 in 5,076
Census rank
#563
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
19.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
59K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 58,885 bearers of the surname Petersen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 563rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petersen
The surname Petersen originated in Scandinavia, primarily in Denmark and Norway, during the Middle Ages. It derives from the Old Norse personal name Pétr, which was a variant of the name Peter, derived from the Greek word "petros" meaning "rock." The suffix "-sen" is a patronymic, indicating "son of."
In the late 12th century, records from the Danish town of Roskilde mention a man named Petrus Jacobsen, suggesting an early usage of the Petersen name. Similarly, the Norwegian Diplomatarium, a collection of medieval documents, includes references to individuals with the name Petersen as early as the 13th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Petersen name was Niels Petersen, a Danish clergyman and writer who lived in the late 15th century. He is known for his work "Jyske Krønike," a chronicle of the history of Jutland.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Petersen name spread throughout Scandinavia and gained prominence. Jens Petersen, a Danish astronomer and mathematician born in 1547, made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and developed improved methods for calculating planetary movements.
The Petersen name also gained recognition in other parts of Europe. In Germany, Johannes Petersen, born in 1576, was a renowned theologian and writer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 19th century, the Petersen name gained further prominence with individuals such as Niels Matthias Petersen, a Danish philologist and linguist born in 1791, who made significant contributions to the study of Old Norse literature and language.
Another notable figure was Julius Petersen, a Danish mathematician born in 1839, who is best known for his work on graph theory and the discovery of the Petersen graph, which bears his name.
The Petersen surname has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Scandinavia, including the town of Petersenshavn in Denmark, which was named after a landowner named Petersen in the 17th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petersen
Among Census respondents with the surname Petersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Petersen bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Petersen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 53,275
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 2,116
- Two or more races3.1% · 1,834
- Black or African American1.6% · 949
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 507
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 204
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petersen
Petersen appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,480
+3,295 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 19.83
Rank movement Down 28 places
2020
#563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,885
+405 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 19.70
Rank movement Up 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #543 | 55,185 | 20.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #571 | 58,480 | 19.83 | +3,295 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 28 places |
| 2020 | #563 | 58,885 | 19.70 | +405 bearers (+0.7%) | Up 8 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Petersen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #571 | #563 | 1.4% |
| Count | 58,480 | 58,885 | 0.7% |
| Per 100K | 19.83 | 19.70 | -0.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petersen bearers went from 58,480 to 58,885 (+0.7% change). The surname moved up 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #571 to #563.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Petersen
FAQ
Petersen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petersen?
Name Census estimates that about 67,525 living Americans carry the surname Petersen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,076 residents.
How common is Petersen?
Petersen ranks #563 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 58,885 people with the surname Petersen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (67,525), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Petersen.
Has Petersen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petersen went from 58,480 recorded bearers to 58,885. That is an increase of 405 (+0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #571 to #563.
What does the Census say about the background of Petersen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Petersen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (53,275 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petersen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Petersen (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Petersen mean?
Son of Peter, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Peter, meaning "rock" or "stone." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Petersen (19.70 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Petersen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.