For Peterson, start by looking at the established rendering 彼得森 Bǐdésēn. If you want a one-character Chinese surname, 皮 Pí gives a useful link to the opening sound in the familiar English “Peter-son” pronunciation. It changes the first written character. 石 Shí takes a different route through the historical stone meaning of Peter. The first is a sound-led adaptation; the second is an indirect meaning choice. 1, 2, 3, 4
I would test 皮 first if preserving the English opening is your priority. Keep 彼得森 when recognizability of the whole existing surname matters more. None of these choices requires giving up the spelling Peterson.
Why the first character needs its own check
NAER’s English-name table explicitly pairs Peterson with 彼得森. This is evidence for a complete foreign-surname rendering, not evidence that the opening 彼 independently works as a Chinese surname. 1
The dictionary entry inspected for 彼 bǐ gives pronoun uses but no surname sense. That is a limit of the evidence consulted, not proof that no rare family anywhere has ever used 彼. I therefore do not recommend 彼 as an already verified surname in this article. It remains perfectly usable inside the full transliteration. 5
Nor does the fact that 彼 contains the component 皮 make the two interchangeable. Choosing 皮 is a deliberate new surname choice, supported by a separate dictionary entry. It is not a standard simplified spelling of 彼 or an official abbreviation of Peterson.
What 皮 Pí preserves
The education ministry dictionary lists 皮 as a surname under pí. It is written the same way in simplified and traditional Chinese. The second tone rises; pinyin p is aspirated. 2
For readers whose Peterson starts with the usual English “pee” sound, Pí keeps a p-like onset and an i vowel. Mandarin does not carry over English vowel length as the same contrast, and the rising tone is not English stress. The remainder of Peterson, including the t or flap, r where pronounced, s and final n, disappears. Your own family pronunciation remains the starting point.
You can say 我姓皮，Wǒ xìng Pí, “My surname is Pí,” and show the character. Its ordinary meanings include skin or an outer covering, but a surname does not describe the bearer’s skin, occupation or personality. If that everyday association bothers you, it is a legitimate personal reason to prefer another option; it does not make the surname invalid.
How Peterson leads indirectly to stone
The Dictionary of American Family Names describes Peterson as patronymic from Peter in several language contexts and notes related forms absorbed in North America. The route is therefore through a personal name, not a claim that the modern English word Peterson literally means a stone. 3
The Real Academia Galega’s Pedro entry connects the Peter/Pedro name family with the historical stone or rock meaning. 石 Shí is independently attested as a Chinese surname under shí and also means stone. This supports a transparent personal explanation: “I chose Shí because of the older stone association behind Peter, the name from which Peterson was formed.” 4, 6
Two things are lost. Shí sounds very different from Peterson, and it does not express “son of” or a relationship to a person named Peter. It does not prove that a particular ancestor was named Peter, either. A family’s actual history needs family evidence beyond a general surname dictionary.
Read 石 as Shí in this proposal
The ministry’s 石 page includes shí and dàn. Its surname sense is in the shí subsection. The page title may show the other reading; the placement of the surname sense in the body is what matters here. 6
Shí uses a retroflex sh-like consonant and the second tone. Its pinyin i is not the same vowel as the i in Pí. These are not two rhyming surname options merely because their Latin spellings end in i.
The stone image also has a Chinese artistic setting. The Metropolitan Museum’s Qing-dynasty scholar’s rock with overhang and perforation is a natural limestone piece whose outline suggests a mountain in miniature. Someone drawn to landscapes or objects of contemplation may find that a more personal reason to like 石 than a generic claim about toughness. It adds a chosen Chinese association; it does not explain the origin of every 石 family or change Peterson’s etymology.
Keep the whole name in view
Place 皮 and 石 before the same intended Chinese given name and compare the two spoken combinations. Both have a rising surname tone, but their consonants and vowels differ markedly. Ask someone who uses Mandarin in your intended setting to listen to the complete name, rather than judging from “Pi” and “Shi” alone.
If you are already introduced as 彼得森, retaining that usage may be simplest. A short Chinese surname can be shown beside Peterson in a bilingual signature, while the original name remains visible wherever matching records matters. The discarded 得森 is not automatically a Chinese given name, and its individual character meanings are not the etymology of Peterson.
My practical recommendation is 皮 Pí for the opening sound, 石 Shí for the indirect stone link, or the complete 彼得森 for recognition. The best choice is the one whose tradeoff you can comfortably explain.
Sources and method
NAER English table, PDF page 24, printed page 13: Peterson—彼得森.
MOE 皮: surname pí.
DAFN Peterson entry, reproduced by FamilySearch: formation history, not a particular family’s ancestors.
Real Academia Galega Pedro: related personal-name meaning.
Hàndiǎn 彼: complete lexical sections read for the evidence limit stated above.
MOE 石: surname under shí, separately from dàn.
English sound comparisons are conditional on the bearer’s pronunciation, not a recording study.
The recorded 2020 U.S. Census surname file lists PETERSON at rank 77 with 265,150, after disclosure-avoidance processing. The data were released on April 14, 2026; this is not a count of current 2026 residents. Spellings and related surnames are not merged. Census release, methodology. The figures were observed on 4 October 2026. Research date: October 6, 2026.
