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

Petrey, 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 Petrey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Petrey in America

Petrey is the 13824th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Petrey surname appeared 2,187 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 Petrey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Petrey 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 Petrey

The surname Petrey has its origins in France, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old French word "Petri," which means "son of Peter." This suggests that the name was initially a patronymic, indicating the bearer was the son of someone named Peter.

One of the earliest known references to the Petrey surname can be found in the records of the Duchy of Normandy, where a nobleman named Petri de Villers was mentioned in a charter from the year 1175. This document suggests that the name had already established itself as a distinct surname by that time.

During the Middle Ages, the Petrey name spread across various regions of France, with notable pockets of the population bearing this surname found in the provinces of Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany. In some areas, the name was also spelled as Pétry or Pétrie, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.

In the 13th century, a notable figure named Jehan Petrey was recorded as a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Rouen, Normandy. His legacy is reflected in the naming of a street in the city's historic center, Rue Petrey, which still exists today.

As the centuries progressed, the Petrey name continued to spread across Europe, with members of the family establishing themselves in various professions and walks of life. One notable individual was Jean-Baptiste Petrey, a renowned French architect born in 1697, who was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Paris and its surrounding regions.

Another notable figure was Étienne Petrey, a French soldier and explorer who accompanied the famous expedition led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in the late 17th century. Petrey played a crucial role in the exploration and mapping of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico region.

In the 19th century, the Petrey name gained prominence in the literary world with the birth of Stéphane Petrey, a celebrated French poet and novelist born in 1841. His works, which explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, earned him critical acclaim and a place in the pantheon of French literature.

It is important to note that while the Petrey surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with descendants of the original French families now found in countries like the United States, Canada, and other regions where French emigrants settled over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Petrey

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

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

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

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