Petersen

Not to be confused with Peterson.

Petersen

Pronunciation	PeH-teHr-seHn
Origin
Word/name	Nordic
Meaning	“son of Peter”
Region of origin	Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, Sweden; Northern Germany: Former old Danish territories.
Other names
Variant form(s)	Peterson Pettersen Pedersen

Petersen is a common Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Peter". There are other spellings. Petersen may refer to:

People

In arts and entertainment

• Adolf Dahm-Petersen, Norwegian voice specialist
• Anja Petersen, German operatic soprano and university lecturer
• Anker Eli Petersen, Faroese writer and artist
• Ann Petersen, Belgian actress
• Chris Petersen (born 1963), American child actor
• Devon Petersen (born 1986), South African darts player
• Elmer Petersen, American artist
• Gustaf Munch-Petersen, Danish writer and painter
• Joel Petersen, bass guitarist
• John Hahn-Petersen, Danish actor
• Josef Petersen, Danish novelist
• Patrick Petersen, American actor
• Paul Petersen, American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist
• Robert E. Petersen, publisher, auto museum founder
• Robert Storm Petersen, Danish cartoonist, writer, animator, illustrator, painter and humorist
• Sandy Petersen, American game designer
• Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, German musician
• William Petersen, American actor
• Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), German film director

In government and politics

• Alicia O'Shea Petersen, Australian activist
• Alfonso Petersen, Mayor of Guadalajara, Mexico
• Andrew Petersen, member of the United States House of Representatives
• Carl Wilhelm Petersen (1868–1933), German politician and first mayor of Hamburg
• Chap (John Chapman) Petersen, American, Virginia politician
• Cynthia Petersen, Canadian judge
• Elsebeth Kock-Petersen, Danish politician
• Ewa Hedkvist Petersen, Swedish politician
• Flo Bjelke-Petersen, Australian politician and writer
• George Petersen, Australian politician
• Hans Christian Petersen, Norwegian politician
• Harald Petersen, Danish politician
• Hjalmar Petersen, American politician
• Jan Petersen, Norwegian diplomat and politician
• Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Australian politician
• Marita Petersen, Faroese politician
• Matthew S. Petersen, U.S. Federal Election Commission member
• Niels Helveg Petersen, Danish politician
• P. Walter Petersen, American politician
• Patricia M. Petersen, Australian politician, author
• Søren Jessen-Petersen, Danish United Nations official

In music

• Petersen Zagaze Zambian singer and song writer.

In military

• Danny J. Petersen, American Medal of Honor recipient
• Forrest S. Petersen, United States Navy admiral and aviator
• Frank E. Petersen, retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general
• Sigmund R. Petersen, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps) rear admiral and fourth Director of the NOAA Corps

In religion

• Johann Wilhelm Petersen, German theologian, mystic, and Millennialist.
• Johanna Eleonora Petersen, German theologian, exponant of Radical Pietism
• Mark E. Petersen, member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)
• Ole Peter Petersen, founder of Methodism in Norway

In sport

• Alviro Petersen, South African cricketer
• Cal Petersen (born 1994), professional ice hockey goaltender
• Chris Petersen (born 1964), American football coach
• Ike Petersen, American football player
• Johannes Petersen, Danish chess master
• Lou Petersen, New Zealand dual-code rugby international
• Matthew Petersen, Australian rugby player
• Morten Petersen, Danish football player
• Nils Petersen, German football player
• Sara Petersen (badminton), New Zealand badminton player
• Sara Petersen (hurdler), Danish 400 metres hurdler
• Ted Petersen, football player
• Thyge Petersen, Danish boxer

In other fields

• Anders Petersen (disambiguation)
• Carl Petersen (disambiguation)
• Grant Petersen, American bicycle company owner
• Jack Petersen (disambiguation)
• Johan Carl Christian Petersen, Danish seaman, interpreter, and Arctic explorer
• Johanne Christine Petersen, Danish educator
• Julius Petersen, Danish mathematician
• Julius Petersen, Literary scholar and university professor
• Rodney L. Petersen, American scholar of history, ethics, and religious conflict
• Ron Petersen (born 1934), American mycologist with the standard author abbreviation "R.H.Petersen"
• Sophie Petersen (1885–1965), Danish geographer

Other uses

• Petersen (film), a 1974 Australian drama film
• Petersen Automotive Museum
• Petersen Bay, Greenland
• Petersen graph, famous for its special properties in graph theory
• Petersen family, a particular family of seven graphs transformable to each other via Δ–Y or Y–Δ transforms

See also

• Bjelke-Petersen
• Pedersen, surname
• Peterson (surname)