Frequency: (110846)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English, Scottish, and German: patronymic from Peter.
2. Americanized form of similar surnames of non-English origin (such as Petersen, or Swedish Pettersson).
3. In VT, there are Petersons who were originally called by the French name Beausoleil; in some documentation this was translated fairly literally as Prettysun, which was then assimilated to Peterson.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
