Meaning & History
Petrosyan is a common Armenian patronymic surname meaning "son of Petros", the Armenian form of Peter. The name Peter ultimately derives from the Greek Petros (Πέτρος), meaning "stone", a translation of the Aramaic name Cephas given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (see Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42).
Origin and Variants
In Eastern Armenian, the surname is commonly spelled Petrosyan, Petrosian, or Petrossian; while in Western Armenian, due to differing phonetic pronunciation, it appears as Bedrosian or Bedrossian. The -ian suffix is a distinctive Armenian patronymic ending meaning "son of", making Petrosyan language-wise equivalent to the English surname Peterson (son of Peter). Petrosyan is one of the most frequent surnames in Armenia, reflecting the widespread use of Petros as a masculine given name among Armenians, a Christian nation.
Notable Bearers
Among Eastern Armenian bearers:
- Gevorg Petrosyan (born 1972), Armenian lawyer and politician
- Artur Petrosyan (born 1971), Armenian professional footballer
- Armenak Petrosyan (born 1973), Armenian professional footballer
- Arsen Petrosyan (born 1991), Armenian footballer
- Gagik Petrosyan (born 1973), Armenian politician
- Arev Petrosyan (born 1972), Armenian artist
Additionally, variants of the name appear in diaspora, such as Aram Bedrosian, a filmmaker.
Related Surnames
Petrosyan is one of several patronymics derived from Petros. Its direct variant is Bedrosian for Western Armenians. Related surnames from other languages include the Russian Petrov and its feminine form Petrova, the Serbian Petrović, the Croatian Petrić, and the Macedonian Pandev and its feminine form Pandeva.
- Meaning: Son of Petros (Peter)
- Origin: Armenian (Eastern and Western)
- Type: Patronymic surname
- Usage regions: Armenia, Armenian diaspora