2000
#13,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,037
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Peterkin
A diminutive form of Peter, meaning "little Peter" or "son of Peter," often used as a surname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,571 Americans carry the last name Peterkin. That puts it at #13,078 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,316 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peterkin 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 Peterkin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,316
Census rank
#13,078
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,242 bearers of the surname Peterkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13078th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterkin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peterkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterkin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Peterkin 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 Peterkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.8% · 1,677
- White16.1% · 360
- Two or more races5.1% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peterkin
Peterkin 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
#12,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,507
+470 bearers (+23.1%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 1,259 places
2020
#13,078
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,242
-265 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 679 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,658 | 2,037 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,399 | 2,507 | 0.85 | +470 bearers (+23.1%) | Up 1,259 places |
| 2020 | #13,078 | 2,242 | 0.75 | -265 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 679 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 Peterkin 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 | #12,399 | #13,078 | -5.5% |
| Count | 2,507 | 2,242 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.75 | -11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peterkin bearers went from 2,507 to 2,242 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 679 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,399 to #13,078.
FAQ
Peterkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peterkin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,571 living Americans carry the surname Peterkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,316 residents.
How common is Peterkin?
Peterkin ranks #13,078 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,242 people with the surname Peterkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,571), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Peterkin.
Has Peterkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peterkin went from 2,507 recorded bearers to 2,242. That is a decrease of 265 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,399 to #13,078.
What does the Census say about the background of Peterkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterkin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Peterkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (1,677 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peterkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (74.8%), White (16.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Peterkin (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 Peterkin mean?
A diminutive form of Peter, meaning "little Peter" or "son of Peter," often used as a surname. 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 Peterkin (0.75 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 Peterkin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.