Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Patterson” come from?

Patterson is an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Patrick, which comes from Latin Patricius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ph₂tḗr meaning father.

Ancestry of “Patterson”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishPate—
2EnglishPatrick—
3Middle EnglishPatrick—
4LatinPātricius—
5Latin-icius-itious
6Latin-icusbelonging to; derived from; of or pertaining to;...
7Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
8Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
9Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →