Pedersen

Son of Peder, the old Danish Peter.

Origin: Danish
Register: Danish family

The seat of Pedersen

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Pedersen community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Pedersen has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Pedersen clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Pedersen clan →

What does the Pedersen name mean?

'Son of Peder', Peder being the older Danish form of Peter. Distinct from Petersen, which keeps the formal Peter; both descend from the apostle's rock.

The history of Pedersen

Peder was the homely Danish Peter, against the bookish Petersen, and its son Pedersen is among the most numerous Danish surnames. The two spellings, Peder and Peter, split a single apostle's name into two of the country's common -sen patronymics.

Also found in

The Pedersen name has substantial historical presence beyond Danish. See it on Norwegian.

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as a PedersenStart your story →

Hold a real castle against whatever you choose to send at it, take a ship out in her own service years, or stand at the shoulder of someone the record remembers. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Frequently asked

What does the surname Pedersen mean?

'Son of Peder', Peder being the older Danish form of Peter. Distinct from Petersen, which keeps the formal Peter; both descend from the apostle's rock. Peder was the homely Danish Peter, against the bookish Petersen, and its son Pedersen is among the most numerous Danish surnames.

Is Pedersen Danish or Norwegian?

Pedersen is a Danish surname; its home on this atlas is Danish, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated. The name also has a substantial historical presence in Norwegian, cross-linked on the page under "Also found in", but the record is densest in Danish.

How old is the Pedersen surname?

Peder was the homely Danish Peter, against the bookish Petersen, and its son Pedersen is among the most numerous Danish surnames. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Pedersen name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Pedersen family known for?

Son of Peder, the old Danish Peter. Peder was the homely Danish Peter, against the bookish Petersen, and its son Pedersen is among the most numerous Danish surnames.

Is there a Pedersen family crest or coat of arms?

There is no single coat of arms that belongs to everyone named Pedersen. Heraldic arms were granted to individuals and descend through specific documented lines, so a "family crest" matched to a surname alone is decorative rather than genealogical.

Where is the Pedersen surname found today?

Danish is the primary historical home of the Pedersen surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Danish origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Pedersen family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Pedersen family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Danish so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Pedersen family today?

The seat for the head of the Pedersen family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.