The Patterson surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 198,557 people carried this name — #104 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,360 people counted.
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In Switzerland’s population statistics
83 people named Patterson live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 52 people named Patterson.
Most of them — 35 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Aveyron.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
24 people named Patterson have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 74 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 print
Patterson in American newspapers,
1902–1942.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,249,131 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Patterson,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Robert Patterson 1743–1824 · mathematician -
Robert Patterson 1753–1827 · soldier -
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte 1785–1879 · merchant -
Robert Patterson 1792–1881 · military officer -
George W. Patterson 1799–1879 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 156 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Patterson.
- Patrizi 324 · U.S. census
- Patron 1,506 · U.S. census
- Patrone 671 · U.S. census
- Patruno 292 · U.S. census
- Patry 570 · U.S. census
- Patte 107 · U.S. census
- Patti 3,818 · U.S. census
- Pattin 230 · U.S. census
- Patton 64,772 · U.S. census
- Patty 3,111 · U.S. census
- Pattyn 148 · U.S. census
- Paty 369 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Patterson 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.