Pieterse is a Dutch and Afrikaans patronymic 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
• Dylan Pieterse (born 1995), South African rugby player
• Erasmus Pieterse (born 1992), South African field hockey player
• Ernie Pieterse (1938–2017), 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 (1905–1973), Dutch Roman Catholic priest in Pakistan
• Reyaad Pieterse (born 1992), South African footballer
• Sasha Pieterse (born 1996), South African actress and singer
• Marissa Pieterse (born 1989), South African Actuary
• [[Puck Pieterse (born 2002) Dutch cyclist

Fictional

• Woutertje Pieterse, protagonist of the novel of the same name by Multatuli
• Woutertje Pieterse Prijs, Dutch literary award named after this character

See also

• Pieters
• Pietersen