Peter
A surname from the given name Peter, ultimately meaning “rock” or “stone.”
The #3,859 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,592 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Peter comes from the personal name Peter, introduced through Christian usage. The name goes back to Latin Petrus, from Greek Petros, meaning “stone” or “rock.” As a surname, it usually began as a family name formed from the popular medieval baptismal name.
History
The name became established in England after the Norman Conquest and quickly generated many surnames and variants, including Peters, Pearson, Parkinson, and others. One 19th-century writer noted that Peter was less common than Simon in some periods, but it remained a durable Christian name and surname. In Britain it also appears in older spellings such as Petre.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The biblical association of Peter with the “rock” helped make the name one of the most productive sources of English surnames.
From the historical record
“PETCH, v. Peach. PETER (A.-Lat.-Gr.) Stone, Rock [Lat. Petrus, Gr. IlA-pos— tt^t/jos, a piece of rock, a stone; Tr4tpa (whence 'LsA.petra, a stone), a rock, crag] And ic secge ^€, {>aet ffi eart Petrus, and ofer fysne stan ic getimbrige mine cyricean. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)