Pieterse is a Dutch and Afrikaans surname. The surname was first used in Netherlands before the colonial era. After the dutch established a colony in the Cape of Good Hope, people with the surname Pieterse moved to the colony and as a consequence Pieterse is a common Afrikaans surname.
Notable people with the surname include:
Barend Pieterse (born 1979), South African rugby union player
Cosmo Pieterse (born 1930), South African playwright, actor, poet, literary critic and anthologist
Erasmus Pieterse (born 1992), South African field hockey player
Ernie Pieterse (born 1938), South African racing driver
Happy Pieterse (1942–2013), South African boxer
Jan Pieterse (born 1942), Dutch cyclist
Jan Nederveen Pieterse (born 1946), Dutch sociologist
Liberius Pieterse, Pakistani Roman Catholic priest
Reyaad Pieterse (born 1992), South African footballer
Sasha Pieterse (born 1996), South African actress and singer
