Paterson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A city in northeastern New Jersey, located along the Passaic River near New York City
2. An industrial city in northern New Jersey known for its historic silk mills and the Great Falls of the Passaic River
3. A municipality in the northern part of New Jersey that played a major role in American industrial history

Etymology: "Paterson" is a surname formed from a Middle English short form of "Patrick" with the suffix "-son," meaning "son of Patrick." The pattern is the same as "Jackson" or "Robertson": a personal name followed by "-son," which in English marks a patronymic, a name derived from a father's name. The Patrick element comes from Latin "Patricius," a Roman family designation meaning "patrician," which the Christian saint took as his name when it reached the British Isles. The surname's history reflects how medieval English naming worked. Early records show many people called "Paterson" or "Peterson" (the two forms overlapped), and the name spread widely in Scotland, where it became common. Because surnames were often inherited from fathers in this period, a name like this could persist for generations after the original bearer had been forgotten.