The Petit surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,090 people carried this name — #5,692 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,500 people counted. That is up 13% from 5,403 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Petit surname
Borrowed from Occitan Petit or Middle French Petit.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Petit» (French), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 50,107 people named Petit.
544 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 106 départements, most often Paris.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 5,353 people named Petit 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 Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,211 people named Petit 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
452 people named Petit live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 Poland’s population register
56 people named Petit have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 100 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 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 the Nordic population registers
36 people named Petit 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).
In print
Petit in American newspapers,
1893–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 461,671 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Petit,
with a public archive behind them.
-
François Pourfour du Petit 1664–1741 · naturalist -
Jean Louis Petit 1674–1750 · physician -
Louis Petit de Bachaumont 1690–1771 · writer -
Antoine Petit 1722–1794 · physician -
Claude de Chaffoy 1752–1837 · Catholic priest
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 147 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Petit.
- Petermann 1,025 · U.S. census
- Peters 137,513 · U.S. census
- Petersen 58,480 · U.S. census
- Petesch 216 · U.S. census
- Petet 179 · U.S. census
- Petion 663 · U.S. census
- Petite 904 · U.S. census
- Petitfils 108 · U.S. census
- Petitfrere 1,298 · U.S. census
- Petithomme 931 · U.S. census
- Petitjean 550 · U.S. census
- Petitpas 184 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Petit 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.