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

Pitterson, 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 Pitterson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pitterson in America

Pitterson is the 116829th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pitterson surname appeared 149 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 Pitterson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pitterson 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 Pitterson

The surname PITTERSON has its origins in Scotland, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 13th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the place name "Pittersone" or "Pitterson," which refers to a settlement or small village located near the town of Dundee in the county of Angus.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historic record of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The entry "Willelmus de Pittersone" suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by this time.

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the name PITTERSON appears in various Scottish charters and legal documents, often associated with landholdings and property transactions in the Angus and Fife regions. Notable bearers of the name from this period include John Pitterson, a burgess (a town resident with certain rights and privileges) of Dundee in the mid-15th century.

By the 16th century, variants of the name such as "Pittersoun," "Pittersonne," and "Piterson" began to emerge in records, reflecting the evolving spelling conventions of the time. One notable figure was David Pitterson, a prominent merchant and burgess of Dundee who lived from around 1520 to 1585.

In the 17th century, the PITTERSON name spread beyond Scotland as some bearers of the name migrated to other parts of the British Isles and North America. William Pitterson (1605-1677), a Scottish minister, was among the earliest settlers in New England, arriving in Massachusetts in the 1630s.

Other notable individuals bearing the PITTERSON surname include Sir James Pitterson (1737-1805), a Scottish politician and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1784 to 1786, and Robert Pitterson (1819-1892), a Scottish-born Canadian businessman and politician who played a significant role in the development of the city of Hamilton, Ontario.

While the PITTERSON name originated in Scotland, it has since become more widespread, with bearers of the name found in various parts of the English-speaking world, including the United States, Canada, and other former British colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pitterson

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

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

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

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