Daily Ancestorpater
Pater is Latin for "father"; in registers the father's name often follows the word pater or the phrase filius Petri.
Pater means father. Some printed register forms have a column headed Pater for the father's name and Mater for the mother's. In narrative entries the father usually appears in the genitive, as Petri after filius.
The word is also part of titles, such as Pater for a priest of a religious order, so check whether the name after it belongs to the family or the clergy.
As seen in a recordColumn headings in a printed Latin baptism register
Pater: Petrus Miller, agricola. Mater: Anna Schmidt
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "pater." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/pater. Last checked 2026-10-01.