Peterson
A Scandinavian name meaning "son of Peter", derived from the name Peter which means "rock".
Name Census estimates that about 774 living Americans carry the first name Peterson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Peterson today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peterson births was 1989 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peterson. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
774
~ 1 in 442,835 Americans
Peak year
1989
28 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,772
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Peterson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peterson from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 178 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peterson by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Peterson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Petersons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Florida, New York, California recorded the most babies named Peterson, while California, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Peterson
The name Peterson is an English given name derived from the Greek name Petros, meaning "rock" or "stone." It is also associated with the apostle Peter, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ in the New Testament of the Bible.
The name Peterson likely originated as a patronymic surname, indicating "son of Peter." Over time, it transitioned into a first name in its own right. The earliest recorded instances of the name Peterson date back to the 16th century in England and Scotland.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Peterson was Sir Peterson Blount, an English landowner and Member of Parliament who lived from 1564 to 1638. Another notable figure was Peterson Winslow, a Puritan colonist in Plymouth Colony, born in 1588.
In the realm of literature, Peterson Smyth was an English poet and playwright active in the early 17th century. His works include "The Virtuous Lady" and "The Honour of Ladies."
During the American Revolutionary War, Peterson Gansevoort was a Colonel in the Continental Army, known for his defense of Fort Stanwix against British forces in 1777. He lived from 1749 to 1812.
In the field of science, Peterson Huxley was an English biologist and anthropologist who lived from 1825 to 1895. He was a proponent of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and wrote extensively on various scientific topics.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Peterson, which has its roots in ancient Greek and Christian traditions.
People
Peterson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peterson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Peterson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peterson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 774 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peterson going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 442,835 US residents.
Is Peterson a common name?
We classify Peterson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 810 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peterson most popular?
The single biggest year for Peterson was 1989, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peterson is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Peterson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Peterson in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.