Contents [hide]

Pederson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Pederson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the Pederson family were part of an ancient Scottish tribe called the Picts. The name Pederson is derived from the personal name Peter. Pederson is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. This particular surname was taken from the popular religious given name, Peter a shortened form of St. Peter. Other patronymic names were derived from the given name of an ancestor of the bearer, while still others came from the names of secular heroes.

Early Origins of the Pederson family

The surname Pederson was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland. One of the first records of the family was found here: "Nigellus filius Petri, one of the burgenses rure manentes, Aberdeen, 1317." 1 The native home of the Clan Pheadirean (Patersons) was on the north side of Lochfyne where they were formerly numerous. The name is closely related to Paterson and the two spellings and many more have been used interchangeably over the years. By example, Donald Patyrson was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1494 and William Patrison and John Patonson, 'gentillmen,' were witnesses in Aberdeen in 1446. 1

Early History of the Pederson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pederson research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1327, 1377, 1378, 1411 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Pederson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pederson Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Pederson has been spelled Peterson, Petersone, Petterson, Piterson and others.

Early Notables of the Pederson family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Gerlac Peterssen (Petersen, Peterson, Gerlacus Petri) (1377 or 1378-1411), a Dutch mystic, entered the Institution of the Brethren of Common Life, and devoted his time...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pederson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pederson Ranking

In the United States, the name Pederson is the 2,444^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Pederson family to Ireland

Some of the Pederson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pederson migration to the United States +

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Pederson:

Pederson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anton Pederson, who landed in Texas in 1850-1906 3
Thowald Emil Pederson, aged 23, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1891 3
Adolf Pederson, aged 17, who settled in America, in 1896

Pederson Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

A J Pederson, aged 21, who settled in America, in 1900
Adolf Pederson, aged 17, who immigrated to the United States from Copenhagen, in 1901
Alfred Pederson, aged 26, who settled in America from Lande, Norway, in 1909
Alf Pederson, aged 2, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
Adolf Pederson, aged 34, who landed in America from N.Undal, Norway, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pederson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Pederson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Jorgen Pederson, aged 28, a workman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1871
Dirth O. Pederson, aged 21, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1871

Contemporary Notables of the name Pederson (post 1700) +

James "Jim" Pederson (b. 1942), American businessman, co-founder of The Pederson Group
Stuart Russell Pederson (b. 1960), American former Major League Baseball player who played in 1985 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Donald O. Pederson (1925-2004), American professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, awarded the IEEE Education Medal in 1969, IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984, Computer & Communication Promotion Prize in 1996 and the IEEE Medal of Honor for "creation of the SPICE Program, universally used for the computer aided design of circuits" in 1998
John C. Pederson (b. 1968), American politician, Member of the Minnesota Senate (2011-)
Doug Irvin Pederson (b. 1968), former American NFL football quarterback
Joc R. Pederson (b. 1992), American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Vernon R. Pederson (b. 1919), American jurist, Justice on the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1975 to 1985
Steve Pederson, American Academy Award winning sound engineer
George Pederson, American politician, Mayor of Santa Clarita, California, 1994 4
Elvin E. Pederson, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 40th District, 1957-58 4
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Pederson family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Johan Adolph Pederson, English Interpreter from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 5

SS Atlantic

Chris M. Pederson, who was traveling aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, survived the sinking

The Pederson Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nihil sine Deo
Motto Translation: Nothing without God.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/