Petrus: Surname History and Family Crest

Long before computers fixed spellings, Petrus and Peter were used side by side. Name scholars give the meaning as “From Petrus, "rock"”.

Petrus and Peter

Before spelling was fixed, Peter was also written Petrus. You may also find the name written Petros, Petr and Petro.

557 people born in France between 1891 and 2000 carried the Petrus name at birth. Births under the name grew in the later decades. Spain's INE counts 343 residents with Petrus as first surname and 292 with it as second.

Petrus coat of arms

Arms linked to Peter and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to.

For the full story, order the Petrus surname pack.