Origine et histoire

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Petter', a Swedish colloquial form of Peter — from the Greek 'Petros', meaning 'rock'. Petter and Per are parallel Swedish diminutives of the same source name, and Pettersson and Persson are accordingly parallel surnames that arose in different regions of Sweden. Pettersson is particularly common in the central Swedish provinces of Sodermanland and Narke. The beloved children's book character Pettson, created by Sven Nordqvist, has made the name internationally familiar.