Explore the Family Name Petoskey
The meaning of Petoskey
1. Native American (Ottawa): from an American English altered form of the Ottawa personal name Pet-O-Sega, which was borne by a 19th-century chieftain of French-Ottawa ancestry. The name is interpreted as ‘rising sun’ or ‘rays of the dawn’. 2. Americanized form of a Polish surname, most likely Piętowski, unexplained. History: The chieftain Pet-O-Sega (c.1787–1885) was the son of the French explorer and fur trader Antoine Carre and his wife, the daughter of a chieftain of the Ottawa people. The town of Petoskey, MI, and the Petoskey stone, the official state stone of MI, are named after him. His children were surnamed Petoskey, and their descendants still bear this surname.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Petoskey in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Petoskey has seen a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 53,299th most common surname, but by 2010, it had dropped to the 59,171st position, marking an 11.02% decrease. The total count of individuals with this surname also fell from 364 to 342, a drop of 6.04%. As a result, the proportion of people with the Petoskey surname per 100,000 individuals decreased by 7.69%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #53,299 | #59,171 | -11.02% |
| Count | 364 | 342 | -6.04% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.13 | 0.12 | -7.69% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Petoskey
The ethnic identity associated with the Petoskey surname also saw shifts over the same decade according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority identifying as 'White' increased from 68.13% to 74.56%, marking a 9.44% rise. Those identifying with two or more ethnicities decreased significantly from 9.07% to 4.09%, a 54.91% decrease. Individuals who identified as 'Hispanic' saw a substantial increase, going from 2.20% to 3.22%, a marked 46.36% change. The proportion of 'American Indian and Alaskan Native' identifiers slightly declined, from 19.51% to 17.54%. There were no individuals who identified as 'Asian/Pacific Islander' or 'Black' in either year.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 68.13% | 74.56% | 9.44% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 19.51% | 17.54% | -10.1% |
| Two or More Races | 9.07% | 4.09% | -54.91% |
| Hispanic | 2.2% | 3.22% | 46.36% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 0% | 0% | 0% |