The Petersen surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 55,185 people carried this name — #543 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,890 people counted.
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In Switzerland’s population statistics
349 people named Petersen 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 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 141 people named Petersen.
Most of them — 78 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 22 départements, most often Paris.
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
83 people named Petersen have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 253 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
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 23 people named Petersen 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 print
Petersen in American newspapers,
1896–1961.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 146,434 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Petersen.
- Pestel 174 · U.S. census
- Pete 4,312 · U.S. census
- Petel 187 · U.S. census
- Peter 8,662 · U.S. census
- Petermann 970 · U.S. census
- Peters 134,231 · U.S. census
- Petesch 227 · U.S. census
- Petet 179 · U.S. census
- Petion 436 · U.S. census
- Petit 5,403 · U.S. census
- Petite 790 · U.S. census
- Petitfils 108 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Petersen 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.