| Notes: |
English, from Greek "rock". Petrus, a Latin form of Peter, is often found in older official documents, with appropriate case endings.
In Scotland the two names Patrick and Peter are often interchangeable due to the similarity of Peter to the Gaelic Pātair [Anglicized as Patrick]. Although not strictly synonyms, the interchangeability is so common across Scotland that we classify them as such.
The surname Patterson may be derived from either Peter or Patrick. A correspondent [RD] has noted the use of the name Petrick in Belhelvie parish in Aberdeenshire and used as a common name for both Peter and Patrick.
The 1841 Census of Aberdeenshire had several occurences of Petter and very rare occurrences of Peyter and Pitter, and the abbreviation Petr.
Care should be taken when searching indexes and older records for Peter to take these variations, as well as Patrick, into account. |
