How common is the last name Peterson?

265,150 people in the United States have the last name Peterson, about 1 in 1,127. It ranks #77 of 156,621 last names in the 2020 Census.

last name

PETERSON

#77

of 156,621 last names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
265,150
About
1 in 1,127
This common or more
14.9%
Who bears it

Of the 265,150 people with the last name Peterson, 81.9% reported their origin as White, 9.7% as Black and 3.5% as two or more races. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Either side of Peterson

#75 Reed · 268,584#76 Bell · 267,025#78 Doe · 262,774#79 Ward · 255,767

Spelled almost the same

8 last names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Peterson, most common first.

#215 Peters · 132,098#563 Petersen · 58,885#1,783 Pedersen · 19,674#2,577 Pederson · 13,694#11,132 Petterson · 2,720#13,078 Peterkin · 2,242#20,083 Pettersen · 1,341#44,135 Pettersson · 525

Also a first name

As a first name, Peterson ranks #8,886 of 53,615, with 1,602 people. As a baby name it peaked in 1989, with 28 births. See Peterson as a first name

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