The Peterman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,690 people carried this name — #4,087 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 33,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 8,461 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Peterman surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the servant of Peter’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 599 · public domain.

In Poland’s population register

129 people named Peterman have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 153 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 8 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Opole.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Opole 40
Lower Silesian 28
Silesian 14
Łódź 13
West Pomeranian 11
Lesser Poland 10
Greater Poland 7
Subcarpathian 6

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 26 people named Peterman 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 Santa Fe.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Santa Fe 26

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In national population registers

71 people named Peterman is counted in Slovenia.

Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 71

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Peterman in American newspapers,
1850–1914.

Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Peterman
The New York Herald 1850-06-29
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Peterman
The Washington Times 1914-04-14
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Peterman
The Washington Herald 1914-04-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 22,430 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Peterman in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

232 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Peterman. The most, 52, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 140
New South Wales 61
Victoria 15
South Australia 5
Tasmania 4
Western Australia 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Peterman.

Who carried it

People named Peterman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bill Peterman 1921–1999 · baseball player
  • Donald Peterman 1932–2011 · cinematographer
  • Peggy Peterman 1936–2004 · journalist
  • Harold Peterman 1942–2016 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Peterman,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States782 records

782 records of the Peterman name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 302
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 227
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 102
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 66
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 59
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John W. Peterman

    Born 1914 in Illinois. Enlisted 1941 at Chicago; packer from Cook County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Herbert D. Peterman

    Born 1930; from Montcalm County, Michigan. U.S. Army, clerk-typist; declared dead 1950 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ernst Peterman

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Eider from Bremen and Southampton, aged 28; farmer. From Netschkan, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 782 records for Peterman in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands499 records

499 records of the Peterman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 260
  • Dutch population registers 208
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 31
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hermina Peterman

    Married in 1874 in Weerselo; farmer. Died 1923 in Deurningen (Weerselo), aged 75.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johannes George Ludwig Peterman

    Married in 1897 in Amsterdam; workman. Died 1954 in Apeldoorn, aged 85.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Aart Peterman

    Married in 1824 in Renswoude. Died 1887 in Renswoude, aged 88.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 499 records for Peterman in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Peterman name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Roscoe Peterman

    Buried in 1918 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edward Raymond Peterman

    Died 1972; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Wilbert Winston Peterman

    Died in service in 1946.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Peterman in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia5 records

5 records of the Peterman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Carl Peterman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Orient, aged 33.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record B. Private Peterman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1875 aboard the Pera; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bernard Peterman

    Died 1875; inquest held in Queensland.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Peterman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Peterman name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Guy Jacques Peterman

    Born 1950 in Paris; died 1989 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Peterman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Peterman 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.

See the Peterman volume
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