Patterson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Patrick,” with the form shaped by the nickname Pattie or Patty in some traditions.
The #117 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,503 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Patterson is generally explained as a patronymic built on the personal name Patrick, meaning “son of Patrick.” Several older surname dictionaries note an intermediate nickname form, Pattie or Patty, which helped produce spellings like Patterson alongside Pattinson. The ending -son marks descent or family relationship.
History
The name became established in Britain and later spread widely through migration to North America and other English-speaking regions. Some older writers also connect related forms such as Paterson and Pattison to the same Patrick-based family of names, with local spelling variation common in records. In Scotland and northern England especially, surname forms built from Patrick were especially productive.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname writers sometimes grouped Patterson with a cluster of nickname-based surnames like Catterson, Dickerson, and Stephenson, all built from familiar given names plus -son.
From the historical record
“, pate (Ft. patte), a paw] PATTERSON for Patrickson, q.v. PATTEY) PATTIE [v. Patey, etc. PATTY J PATTIN. V. Patten. , PATTINGHAIVI (Eng.) Bel. to Pattinghain (Staffs), the Domesday Patingham = the”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Patterson
- Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910)
- James Patterson (b. 1947)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.