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

Peterkin, 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 Peterkin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peterkin in America

Peterkin is the 12399th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peterkin surname appeared 2,507 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Peterkin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peterkin 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 Peterkin

The surname Peterkin is of Scottish origin, derived from the personal name Peter, itself from the Greek "Petros" meaning "rock". Peterkin was a diminutive form of Peter, with the addition of the suffix "-kin" denoting "little" or "son of". This patronymic naming tradition was common in medieval Scotland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Peterkin surname dates back to the late 13th century, found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The Peterkins were established in the area of Berwickshire and the Scottish Borders region during this period.

In the 16th century, the Peterkin family had a presence in the village of Innerleithen, located in the Tweed Valley of the Scottish Borders. A notable member was John Peterkin (1528-1593), a minister of the Church of Scotland and a signatory of the National Covenant in 1638.

The Peterkin surname has also been connected to the Peterkyn family, landowners in the parish of Ayton in Berwickshire, as recorded in the 14th century. This suggests a possible alternative spelling or derivation of the name.

During the 17th century, a prominent figure was Alexander Peterkin (1640-1708), a Scottish minister and author who served as the minister of Crayford in Kent, England. He published several religious works, including "A Treatise on the Divine Institution of the Lord's Day" in 1691.

Another notable Peterkin was Alexander Peterkin (1762-1846), a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian who served as the Sheriff-Substitute of Orkney and Shetland Islands. He wrote extensively on the history and antiquities of these islands, including "Notes on Orkney and Zetland" published in 1822.

In the 19th century, Robert Peterkin (1805-1874) was a Scottish artist and painter, known for his landscape and genre paintings. Some of his works are held in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy.

While the Peterkin surname originated in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Scottish migration and settlement. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval Scottish Borders region and the patronymic naming traditions of that era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peterkin

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

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 Peterkin 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 Peterkin 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 Peterkin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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