St Peter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name St Peter came to England with the ancestors of the St Peter family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the name of Christ's apostle, St. Peter. Known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, Cephas, or Peter the Apostle, he was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and one of the first leaders of the early Church. It is generally thought that he was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero between 64 and 68 AD.

Early Origins of the St Peter family

The surname St Peter was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Malpas. They were a branch of the St. Pierres of Malpas who were related to the Lord of Malpas, and Earls of Chester.

Chalfont St. Peter's is a parish, in the union of Amersham, hundred of Burnham, in Buckinghamshire. With nearby Chalfont St. Giles, both parishes were known as Celfunte in the Domesday Book of 1086. 1

Early History of the St Peter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our St Peter research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1320 is included under the topic Early St Peter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

St Peter Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled St. Pier, St. Piere, St. Pierre, St. Peter and others.

Early Notables of the St Peter family

More information is included under the topic Early St Peter Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

St Peter Ranking

In the United States, the name St Peter is the 9,623^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the St Peter family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with St Peter name or one of its variants: Jean Marie Saint Pierre who settled in Quebec, Canada, in 1783; Dumese De Saint Pierre settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1767; Jean Louis Demesne De Saint Pierre settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1768.

Contemporary Notables of the name St Peter (post 1700) +

Natalie St. Peter (b. 1983), American actress known for General Hospital (2017), CSI: Cyber (2015) and Revive (2015)
Florence St. Peter (b. 1936), American actress from Cleveland, Ohio, known for The Reivers (1969), Mannix (1967) and Then Came Bronson (1969)
Claire St. Peter, American educator at West Virginia University
Shawn St. Peter, American Professor of Surgery, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri
Paul St. Peter (b. 1958), born Paul Schmidl Peter, an American voice actor from North Dakota who primarily works on English-language productions of Japanese anime shows, known for Paprika (2006), Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (1978) and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (2012)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/