The Pater surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,099 people carried this name — #23,205 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 270,300 people counted. That is down 12% from 1,253 in 2000.
In Poland’s population register
3,913 people named Pater have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 4,368 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 254 people named Pater.
25 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 37 départements, most often Aisne.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
25 people named Pater live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
33 people named Pater is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Pater,
with a public archive behind them.
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Jean-Baptiste Pater 1695–1736 · painter -
Walter Pater 1839–1894 · writer -
Pál Pater 1656–1724 · astronomer
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Clara Pater 1841– · tutor
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Hermine Deutsch 1871–1940
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Henri Pater 1876–1960 · entomologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Pater.
- Pata 427 · U.S. census
- Patalano 573 · U.S. census
- Patane 996 · U.S. census
- Patat 218 · U.S. census
- Pate 29,327 · U.S. census
- Patel 229,973 · U.S. census
- Paternoster 907 · U.S. census
- Patey 313 · U.S. census
- Patient 558 · U.S. census
- Patin 2,996 · U.S. census
- Paton 3,059 · U.S. census
- Patout 190 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Pater is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.