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

Pettersen, 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 Pettersen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pettersen in America

Pettersen is the 23647th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pettersen surname appeared 1,072 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pettersen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pettersen 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 Pettersen

The surname Pettersen originated in Norway during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse personal name Petur, which is the equivalent of the English name Peter. The suffix "-sen" indicates "son of," so Pettersen literally means "son of Peter."

Historically, surnames were not widely used in Scandinavia until the late Middle Ages. As the population grew, it became necessary to differentiate individuals beyond their given names. Patronymic surnames, like Pettersen, were commonly adopted, identifying a person as the child of their father.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pettersen can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian diplomatic documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, a man named Peder Pettersen is mentioned in a legal document from the year 1344.

During the Viking Age, the name Petur was often associated with seafaring and exploration. Some historical records suggest that a Viking named Petur Pettersen may have been among the first Norwegians to establish settlements in Iceland in the late 9th century.

In the 16th century, a prominent Norwegian clergyman named Peder Pettersen Dass (1647-1708) gained recognition for his religious poetry and hymns. His works played a significant role in the development of Norwegian literature during the Baroque era.

Another notable figure was Johan Pettersen Nordahl (1807-1892), a Norwegian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Norway from 1879 to 1884. He was instrumental in the modernization of Norway's infrastructure and played a key role in establishing the country's parliamentary system.

In the realm of exploration, Peder Pettersen Nordenfeldt (1842-1920) was a Swedish-Norwegian inventor and industrialist known for his contributions to the development of submarine technology and naval weaponry.

The surname Pettersen has also been associated with various place names throughout Norway, such as Pettersenfjorden, a fjord in the northern region of the country, and Pettersenbukta, a bay located in the Svalbard archipelago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pettersen

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

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

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

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