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

Peterman, 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 Peterman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peterman in America

Peterman is the 4087th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peterman surname appeared 8,690 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Peterman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peterman 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 Peterman

The surname Peterman is of German origin, derived from the personal name Peter and the occupational term "man," meaning a person or servant. It is believed to have emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century, in various regions of present-day Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peterman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 14th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a certain "Peterman von Halberstadt," suggesting its presence in the region of Saxony-Anhalt.

By the 16th century, the Peterman surname had spread across various German-speaking territories, including Bavaria, Prussia, and the Rhineland. Notable individuals bearing this name include Johann Peterman (1535-1592), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony, and Hans Peterman (1571-1642), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Nuremberg.

In the 17th century, the Peterman name appeared in various church records and municipal documents across Germany, reflecting its widespread use. One notable figure was Matthias Peterman (1617-1687), a German composer and organist from Thuringia.

As German immigrants began to settle in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Peterman surname was introduced to the New World. One of the earliest known bearers of this name in the United States was Johann Georg Peterman (1743-1819), a Hessian soldier who settled in Pennsylvania after the American Revolutionary War.

Throughout the 19th century, several individuals with the Peterman surname made notable contributions in various fields. These include Jacob Peterman (1812-1886), a prominent businessman and politician in Ohio, and Andrew Peterman (1833-1913), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.

In more recent history, the Peterman name has been associated with several influential figures, such as the American explorer and writer Hiram Bingham III (1875-1956), who was also known as Hiram Bingham Peterman, and the American writer and editor Millard Peterman (1903-1986), known for his contributions to the science fiction genre.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peterman

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

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

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

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