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Patterson History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Patterson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Patterson

What does the name Patterson mean?

The surname Patterson comes from the Irish Ó Casain. At one time it was anglicized as Kissane, but this is now obsolete as a variant of Patterson. Patterson is a somewhat unusual variant brought about through pseudo-translation. "Casan" means "path," locally pronounced in Connacht as "pat" which strangely brings about Patterson. 1

Early Origins of the Patterson family

The surname Patterson was first found in Connacht (Irish: Connachta, (land of the) descendants of Conn), where it belonged to one of the eight Sodhans. The Sodhans were septs which were located in the Hy Many (Ui Maine) country, but whose ancestors were not of that group.

Early History of the Patterson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Patterson research. More information is included under the topic Early Patterson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Patterson Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cussane, O'Cussane, Patterson, Paterson and others.

Early Notables of the Patterson family

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

Patterson World Ranking

the United States, the name Patterson is the 87^th most popular surname with an estimated 228,804 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Patterson is ranked the 177^th most popular surname with an estimated 20,205 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Patterson is the 198^th popular surname with an estimated 16,465 people with that name. 4 New Zealand ranks Patterson as 153^rd with 3,299 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Patterson as 276^th with 22,053 people. 6

Patterson migration to the United States +

Patterson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

David Patterson who settled in Boston in 1651
Edward Patterson, who arrived in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1655 7
Andrew Patterson who settled in New Jersey in 1685
Andrew Patterson, who landed in Perth Amboy, NJ in 1685 7

Patterson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Abraham Patterson, who arrived in New England in 1738 7
Elizabeth Patterson, who landed in Virginia in 1740 7

Patterson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Wm. Patterson, Irish settler who landed in New Jersey in 1811 aboard the ship "Protection"
Eliza Patterson, Irish settler who landed in New Jersey in 1811 aboard the ship "Protection"
Archibald Patterson, aged 25, who landed in North Carolina in 1812 7
Arthur Patterson, aged 44, who arrived in New York in 1812 7
Adam Patterson, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1812 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Patterson Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Harry Howard Patterson, who landed in Alabama in 1927 7

Patterson migration to Canada +

Patterson Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Ann Patterson, who arrived in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1773
John Patterson who arrived on the Hector, Pictou County in 1773
James Patterson, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1783
Mr. Alex Patterson U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 8
Mr. Archibald Patterson U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Patterson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Dolly Patterson who settled in Charlottetown, PEI in 1806
William Patterson, aged 18, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Protector" in 1834
Ann Patterson, aged 26, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Protector" in 1834
Ann Patterson, aged 26, a spinster, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Protector" in 1834
Easter Patterson, aged 32, a spinster, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Highlander" in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Patterson migration to Australia +

Patterson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Isaac Patterson, (b. 1797), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
William Patterson, Scottish convict from Edinburgh, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Walter Patterson, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 8th April 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Robert Patterson, a stone-mason, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. John Patterson, Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for life, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Patterson 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:

Patterson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mary Patterson, aged 18, a housemaid, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Robert Patterson, aged 39, a gardener, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Ellen Patterson, aged 39, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Jane Patterson, aged 13, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
William Patterson, aged 15, a painter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Patterson (post 1700) +

Frederick Douglass Patterson (1901-1988), American academic, President of what is now Tuskegee University (1935-1953) and founder of the United Negro College Fund (1944), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Willis Charles Patterson (1930-2025), American bass-baritone, conductor, editor, music arranger and professor emeritus/Associate Dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
James Brendan Patterson (b. 1947), American author and philanthropist, known for Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, and Women's Murder Club
Mary Jane Patterson (1840-1894), American educator born to a enslaved mother and a freeborn father, the first African-American woman to receive a B.A degree
Daryl Alan Patterson (1943-2025), American right-handed baseball pitche, played professional baseball (1965-1975), including parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers (1968-1971), Oakland Athletics (1971), St. Louis Cardinals (1971), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1974)
James Lloydovich Patterson (1933-2025), Russian-American writer, naval officer, and child actor of African American and White Russian descent
Haywood Patterson (1911-1952), American teenage hobo, one of the Scottsboro Boys, accused of rape aboard a train, convicted and escaped prison to publish his book The Scottsboro Boy, finally receiving a full posthumous pardon on November 21, 2013
John Malcolm Patterson (1921-2021), American politician, 44th Governor of Alabama (1959-1963)
Jarrod Zane Patterson (1973-2020), American Major League Baseball third baseman
... (Another 323 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Patterson family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Robert Stuart Patterson (1876-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Calgary, Alberta, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13
Mr. John Rea Patterson (1882-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Calgary, Alberta, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 14
Mr. Patterson, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14
Mr. Patterson, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 15
Norman Minter Patterson (d. 1939), British Midshipman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 15
... (Another 10 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 18th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/champion
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html