Where does “Petersen” come from?

Petersen comes from Danish Petersen, comprising Danish Peter from Ancient Greek Πέτρος and Danish søn from Old Danish sun, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European suHnús meaning "son."

Ancestry of “Petersen”, step by step

Petersen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Danish Petersen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DanishPetersen
2DanishPeterPeter biblical figure
3Old NorsePétr
4LatinPetrusPeter
5Indonesianpenembakshooter
6Indonesiantembakto shoot to fire a shot
7Malaytembakto shoot
8MalaytimbakObsolete form of tembak
9Proto-Malayictimbak
10Proto-Malayo-Polynesianti(m)bak

via Norwegian Petersen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1NorwegianPetersen
2NorwegianPeterPeter biblical figure
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ti(m)bak
Petersen — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer