# Paterson

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈpætəɹ.sən/ · frequency rank #16,990

## Definitions
1. A surname originating as a patronymic.
2. A city, the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States.
3. An unincorporated community in Benton County, Washington, United States.
4. A town in New South Wales, Australia.
5. A settlement in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
6. An electoral division in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

## Etymology
From a Middle English short form of Patrick + -son.

## Easily confused with
- **person** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-person)
- **patron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-patron)
- **Pierson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-pierson)
- **Peterson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-peterson)
- **Petersen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-petersen)
- **Pattison** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-pattison)
- **Patterson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-patterson)
- **parson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parson-vs-paterson)
- **Paterno** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterno-vs-paterson)

## Common misspellings (11)
`apterson`, `paetrson`, `paterosn`, `paterrson`, `patersno`, `patersonn`, `patersson`, `patesron`, `patreson`, `ppaterson`, `ptaerson`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/paterson