The Pedersen surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 20,135 people carried this name — #1,780 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 19,510 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Pedersen surname
A common surname originating as a patronymic.
Originally a patronymic from Peder + -sen.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Pedersen» (Danish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 624 people named Pedersen live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
205 people named Pedersen live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 74 people named Pedersen.
Most of them — 52 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.
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
67 people named Pedersen have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 310 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in West Pomeranian.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 36 people named Pedersen live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
37,883 people named Pedersen are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Pedersen in American newspapers,
1826–1941.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,657 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Pedersen,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Søren Pedersen 1826–1898 · politician -
Lars Pedersen 1827–1903 · farmer -
Jørgen Pedersen 1841–1920 · politician -
Hans Poul Pedersen 1850–1931 · politician -
Viggo Christian Frederik Vilhelm Pedersen 1854–1926 · painter
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 252 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Pedersen.
- Pecoraro 3,362 · U.S. census
- Pecot 322 · U.S. census
- Pecquet 106 · U.S. census
- Pede 203 · U.S. census
- Pedemonte 235 · U.S. census
- Peden 4,716 · U.S. census
- Pedini 173 · U.S. census
- Pedone 1,230 · U.S. census
- Pedre 137 · U.S. census
- Pedrero 283 · U.S. census
- Pedretti 624 · U.S. census
- Pedrini 143 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Pedersen 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.