2000
#1,683
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,510
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.23
Uncommon Last name
Pedersen
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Peder," derived from the Greek name Petros, which means "stone" or "rock."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,561 Americans carry the last name Pedersen. That puts it at #1,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,192 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pedersen 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 Pedersen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 15,192
Census rank
#1,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,674 bearers of the surname Pedersen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pedersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pedersen
The surname Pedersen originates from Denmark and Norway, and it dates back to the early medieval period. It is a patronymic name, derived from the given name Peter, which itself comes from the Greek word "petros," meaning "rock." The suffix "-sen" indicates "son of," so Pedersen literally means "son of Peter."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Pedersen appears in the Danish Census Book of 1890, where it is listed as one of the most common surnames in the country. This suggests that the name had already been in use for several centuries by that point.
In Norway, the name Pedersen can be traced back to the 13th century, when it was commonly found in the regions of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in Norway include Peder Magnusson Pedersen, a farmer who lived in the village of Holtan in the late 16th century, and Hans Pedersen, a merchant from Trondheim who was mentioned in a trade record from 1624.
During the Middle Ages, the name Pedersen was often associated with the clergy and the educated classes, as the name Peter was popular among Christians due to its biblical connections. One notable example is Peder Pedersen Plade (c. 1510-1585), a Danish theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Denmark.
Another notable figure bearing the surname Pedersen was Peder Griffenfeld (1635-1699), a Danish statesman and diplomat who served as the Chancellor of Denmark under King Christian V. He was involved in the Scandinavian branch of the Northern Wars and played a crucial role in the Treaty of Lund in 1679.
In the 19th century, the name Pedersen was associated with several prominent figures, including Jens Andreas Pedersen (1792-1857), a Norwegian philologist and lexicographer who is best known for his work on the Dano-Norwegian language, and Carl Pedersen (1854-1926), a Danish linguist and scholar of comparative linguistics.
While the surname Pedersen is most common in Denmark and Norway, it has also been found in other parts of Scandinavia, as well as in the United States and other countries where Scandinavian immigrants settled. Despite its widespread use, the name has retained its strong connection to its Danish and Norwegian origins throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pedersen
Among Census respondents with the surname Pedersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pedersen 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 Pedersen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 17,974
- Two or more races3.5% · 679
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 657
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 182
- Black or African American0.5% · 91
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 91
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pedersen
Pedersen 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
#1,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,135
+625 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 6.83
Rank movement Down 97 places
2020
#1,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,674
-461 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 6.58
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,683 | 19,510 | 7.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,780 | 20,135 | 6.83 | +625 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 97 places |
| 2020 | #1,783 | 19,674 | 6.58 | -461 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 3 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 Pedersen 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 | #1,780 | #1,783 | -0.2% |
| Count | 20,135 | 19,674 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.83 | 6.58 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pedersen bearers went from 20,135 to 19,674 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,780 to #1,783.
FAQ
Pedersen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pedersen?
Name Census estimates that about 22,561 living Americans carry the surname Pedersen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,192 residents.
How common is Pedersen?
Pedersen ranks #1,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,674 people with the surname Pedersen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,561), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Pedersen.
Has Pedersen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pedersen went from 20,135 recorded bearers to 19,674. That is a decrease of 461 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,780 to #1,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Pedersen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pedersen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Pedersen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (17,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pedersen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Pedersen (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 Pedersen mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Peder," derived from the Greek name Petros, which means "stone" or "rock." 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 Pedersen (6.58 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 Pedersen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.