# Peterson

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈpiːtəsən/ · frequency rank #8,968

## Definitions
1. A patrilineal surname transferred from the given name.
2. A member of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
3. A number of places in the United States:
4. A number of places in the United States:
5. A number of places in the United States:
6. A number of places in the United States:

## Etymology
English, Scottish, and German surname, from Peter + -son. Found parallel in many other languages, such as Norwegian and Danish Pedersen, Pettersen, Polish Piotrowicz, Slovene Petrič, Petrovčič, Petrovič, Petric, Petrovic, etc. Also Americanized from Swedish Petersson, Pettersson.

## Easily confused with
- **Pierson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peterson-vs-pierson)
- **person** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/person-vs-peterson)
- **Pearson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pearson-vs-peterson)
- **Paterson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paterson-vs-peterson)
- **Petersen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/petersen-vs-peterson)
- **Pedersen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pedersen-vs-peterson)
- **Patterson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/patterson-vs-peterson)

## Common misspellings (12)
`epterson`, `peetrson`, `peterosn`, `peterrson`, `petersno`, `petersonn`, `petersson`, `petesron`, `petreson`, `petterson`, `ppeterson`, `pteerson`

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