View source for Petersen

{{distinguish|Peterson (disambiguation){{!}}Peterson}}
{{Infobox surname
| name = Petersen
| pronunciation = ''PeH-teHr-seHn''
| meaning = “son of Peter”
| region = Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, Sweden; Northern Germany: Former old Danish territories.
| origin = [[Nordic languages|Nordic]]
| variant = [[Peterson (surname)|Peterson]]<br/>[[Pettersen]]<br/>[[Pedersen]]
}}
'''Petersen''' is a common [[Danish language|Danish]] [[patronymic]] [[surname]], meaning ''"son of [[Peter (name)|Peter]]"''. There are other spellings. Petersen may refer to: 
{{TOC right}}

==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 (actor)|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 Petersen|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)|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
* [[Kim E. Petersen]], (born 1956) American security and counter-terrorism expert
* [[Marita Petersen]], Faroese politician
* [[Matthew S. Petersen]], U.S. Federal Election Commission member
* [[Niels Helveg Petersen]], Danish politician
* [[Olga Petersen]] (born 1982), German politician
* [[P. Walter Petersen]], American politician
* [[Søren Jessen-Petersen]], Danish United Nations official

===In music===
* [[Petersen Zagaze]] Zambian singer and songwriter.

===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, exponent 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
* [[Michael Petersen (baseball)]] (born 1994), American baseball 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)|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)]]

{{surname}}<!-- It does not help to add disambig or hndis tags where the page only contains people who share a surname. -->

{{Peter-surname}}

[[Category:Danish-language surnames]]
[[Category:Norwegian-language surnames]]
[[Category:Swedish-language surnames]]
[[Category:Patronymic surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames from given names]]