Find out how popular the last name Pederson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pederson.

Pederson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pederson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pederson in America

Pederson is the 2520th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pederson surname appeared 14,370 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Pederson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pederson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pederson

The surname Pederson is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse personal name Peder, itself originating from the Greek name Petros, meaning "rock". The earliest recorded instances of this surname can be traced back to the 13th century in Denmark and Norway.

Pederson is a patronymic surname, meaning it was initially used to identify the son of a person named Peder. In the early days, it would have been spelled as Pedersson, Pederssøn, or Pederzen, before evolving into its more modern form.

Historical records show that the name Pederson was particularly prevalent in the coastal regions of Denmark and Norway, where it was commonly borne by fishermen, sailors, and merchants. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Peder Jakobsson, a Norwegian chieftain and landowner who lived in the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, the Pederson name appears in several Danish and Norwegian chronicles and manuscripts, including the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents. One notable figure from this period is Peder Oxe (1420-1482), a Danish statesman and military leader who served as Lord High Steward of Denmark.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Pederson surname spread across Scandinavia and eventually to other parts of Europe and North America as people migrated. One notable bearer of the name was Peder Pedersen Beyer (1538-1619), a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the introduction of Protestantism to Norway.

In the 18th century, the Pederson name gained prominence in the fields of science and exploration. Hans Peter Holm Pedersen-Malling (1770-1835) was a Danish naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic region.

As the Pederson surname spread across the globe, it produced several notable figures in various fields. Henrik Pedersen (1867-1953) was a Danish composer and conductor, while Viggo Pedersen (1887-1977) was a Danish actor and film director. In more recent times, the name has been borne by individuals such as Poul Nyrup Pedersen (born 1942), a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1993 to 2001.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pederson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pederson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pederson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pederson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pederson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pederson, please contact us.

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