Surname Peter - Meaning and Origin
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Shedding New Light on Personal Identity and Heritage: The iGENEA DNA Test's Impact on Understanding my Surname 'Peter'
Receiving the iGENEA DNA test results has brought a profound insight into my personal identity and heritage, casting a new light on the meaning of my family name, 'Peter'. This experience showed me how deeply my surname is tied to my identity, reinvigorating my understanding of self and my connection to the past.
T. Peter
read morePeter: What does the surname Peter mean?
The surname Peter is of biblical origin, derived from the Greek name Petros and the Aramaic name Cephas, both meaning "rock" or "stone". This name was famously held by St. Peter, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles and the first Pope, according to Catholic tradition. St. Peter was initially called Simon, but Jesus renamed him Peter as a symbolic gesture, recognizing him as the rock on which he will build his church. The name was highly popular among early Christians and was adopted as a surname in the medieval period. It is prevalent in various forms across many cultures due to the influence of St. Peter. As a surname, Peter could also be patronymic, referring to "son of Peter", or occupational, denoting someone who worked in a church dedicated to St. Peter.
Order DNA origin analysisPeter: Where does the name Peter come from?
The last name Peter is found in multiple countries around the world today. In Germany, the surname Peter is among the top 100 surnames, and it has been among the most common surnames since the Middle Ages. In France, it is in the top 500 surnames.
In the United States, the surname Peter is the 681st most common last name, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The highest concentrations are found in the states of Massachusetts, New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There is also a high concentration of the surname Peter among Caribbean immigrants living in the United States.
In the United Kingdom, the surname Peter is more common in Scotland than in England and Wales. It is the 469th most common last name in the UK.
In Northern and Eastern Europe, the name Peter is one of the most common last names. Latvia has the highest concentration, where it is the 10th most common last name. The surname Peter is also popular in countries such as Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary.
The popularity of the surname Peter in various countries is a testament of how closely intertwined are many cultures that were once part of the same empire or influence.
Variations of the surname Peter
The surname Peter has a number of variants and spellings. It is a name of Germanic origin and is derived from the name “Petrus”. Common variants include Pieter, Petrus and Petro. The name can also be found in a variety of spellings, such as Peters, Pieters or Pietersen, Petrus, Pierre, Pedruzzi, Petri, Pedretti, Petre, Pedreschi and Petrescu.
In some cases, the Peter surname may not be the primary name of an individual, but may also be a translation of a foreign name. The most common non-Germanic translation of the name is Петров (Petrov). This Russian and Bulgarian version carries the same meaning as the original Germanic name.
In France, the Pierre surname is derived from the Latin “Petrus” name. It is sometimes used as an alternative spelling for Peter.
In some countries, such as the Netherlands, the name may have a patronymic ending. For example, the name Peter can becoming Pietersen, meaning “son of Peter”.
In the United States, the Peter surname may be found with a variety of spellings including Pierce, Pearce or Peirce. These are variants of the same name, but are related to the French surname “Pierre”.
In England, the surname Peter may have the unusual spelling “Peart”, which is said to have been associated with it.
In Scotland, the surname may be spelled with the Gaelic letter “f” (ph or fh) at the beginning, producing the prefix “Fh”. A few examples of this spelling are McLaggan, Fhair, MacLaggan, McLaggen and Fhir.
In some cases, the name “Peter” may even be a short form of a longer family name. For example, the surname Pettigrew is derived from the personal name Peter and the Middle English “grew”, meaning “grey”.
Similarly, Petersdorff is the combination of the name Peter and the German word dorff, meaning “village”. These are just a few examples of the many variants, spellings and surnames that are derived from the name Peter.
Famous people with the name Peter
- Peter Sellers: English comedian and actor
- Peter Dinklage: American actor
- Peter Gabriel: English singer-songwriter
- Peter Jackson: New Zealand filmmaker
- Peter Weir: Australian film director
- Peter Allen: Australian singer and songwriter
- Peter Crouch: English footballer
- Peter Capaldi: Scottish actor
- Peter Stormare: Swedish actor
- Peter Fonda: American actor
- Peter O'Toole: English actor
- Peter Frampton: English-American musician
- Peter Tosh: Jamaican musician
- Peter Facinelli: American actor
- Peter Bogdanovich: American director, writer, and actor
- Peter Sellers: English comedian and actor
- Peter Steele: American musician
- Peter Strauss: American actor
- Peter Ustinov: English actor, playwright and author
- Peter Coyote: American actor