2000
#190
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134,231
First available Census row
Per 100,000 49.76
Common Last name
Peters
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name Peter, meaning "stone" or "rock" in Greek.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 151,480 Americans carry the last name Peters. That puts it at #215 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 44.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,263 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peters 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 Peters with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
151K
1 in 2,263
Census rank
#215
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
44.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
132K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 132,098 bearers of the surname Peters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 44.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 215th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peters, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Peters
The surname Peters is of German origin, derived from the personal name Peter, which ultimately stems from the Greek word "petros" meaning "rock" or "stone". This surname first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the Peters surname can be traced back to various regions of Germany, particularly in areas such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It was initially used as a patronymic surname, indicating that the bearer was the son of someone named Peter.
One of the earliest known references to the Peters surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Peters" was mentioned in a record dated 1292.
In England, the Peters surname is believed to have been introduced by German immigrants during the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable early bearer of this name was John Peters (c. 1594-1660), an English colonist and founder of the town of Andover, Massachusetts.
Another significant figure associated with the Peters surname was Hugh Peters (1598-1660), an English preacher and political figure who played a prominent role in the English Civil War and the trial of King Charles I.
In the realm of arts and literature, the name Peters is linked to Diane Peters (1938-2017), an American novelist and short story writer known for her works exploring themes of identity and family relationships.
The Peters surname also has a connection to the field of science, with Hermann Peters (1847-1920), a German botanist and mycologist who made significant contributions to the study of fungi.
Additionally, the Peters name has been carried by individuals in various other fields, such as Johannes Peters (1885-1966), a German Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of Lünen during World War II.
While the Peters surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other English-speaking countries, often through immigration and cultural exchange.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peters
Among Census respondents with the surname Peters, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Peters 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 Peters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 105,066
- Black or African American10.5% · 13,899
- Two or more races3.8% · 5,041
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4,825
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 1,644
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 1,623
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peters
Peters 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
#205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137,513
+3,282 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 46.62
Rank movement Down 15 places
2020
#215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132,098
-5,415 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 44.19
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #190 | 134,231 | 49.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #205 | 137,513 | 46.62 | +3,282 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 15 places |
| 2020 | #215 | 132,098 | 44.19 | -5,415 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 10 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 Peters 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 | #205 | #215 | -4.9% |
| Count | 137,513 | 132,098 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 46.62 | 44.19 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peters bearers went from 137,513 to 132,098 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #205 to #215.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Peters
FAQ
Peters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peters?
Name Census estimates that about 151,480 living Americans carry the surname Peters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,263 residents.
How common is Peters?
Peters ranks #215 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 44.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 44 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 132,098 people with the surname Peters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (151,480), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 44.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 44.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 44 of them to have the surname Peters.
Has Peters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peters went from 137,513 recorded bearers to 132,098. That is a decrease of 5,415 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #205 to #215.
What does the Census say about the background of Peters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peters, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Peters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (105,066 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (10.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Peters (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 Peters mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name Peter, meaning "stone" or "rock" in Greek. 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 Peters (44.19 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 common is the surname Peters?
See how many Americans have the surname Peters on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.