Anderson is a surname deriving from a patronymic meaning "son of Ander/Andrew" (itself derived from the Greek name "Andreas", meaning "man" or "manly").

Anderson
Origin
Language(s)English
Word/nameAndrew
Meaning"Son of Ander/Andrew"
Other names
Variant form(s)D'Andrea, Andersen, Anderssen, Andersson, Andersonne, Andersons, Andersoun, Andirsoone, Andrásffy, Andrásfi, Andreadis, Andreasian, Andreasson, Andreasyan, Andreescu, Andreessen, Andreiescu, Andresen, Andresoun, Andresson, Andreou, Andrewson, Andrejević, Andrejavičius, Andrejevičius, Andrejić, Andrejsons, Andrzejowicz, Andreyev, Andriadze, Andriashvili, Andrić, Andriyuk, Andriyenko, Andriyiv, Andrijašević, Andrijavić, Andrijević, Androson, Ondřejovič, MacAnndrais, Wanderson

In Scotland, the name first appeared in records of the 14th century as "Fitz Andreu" (meaning son of Andrew), and developed in various forms by the Scottish Gaelic patronymic of "MacGhilleAndrais" which means "servant of St. Andrew". Variations of this name were MacAndrew, Gillanders and Anderson. The name soon migrated to other parts of Scotland due to the popularity of the name "Andrew" as associated with the Patron Saint of Scotland, and the largest grouping lies in the north-east of Scotland from the Mearns through Aberdeenshire, Banff, and Moray.[citation needed]

In England, the first recorded spelling of the family name is probably that of William Andreu, which was dated 1237, in the ancient charters of the county of Buckinghamshire, England, in the year 1237.[citation needed]

Anderson is the eighth most frequent surname in Scotland and 52nd most common in England.[1]

In Sweden, the form Andersson is the most common surname along with Johansson.[2]

In Norway and Denmark, the form Andersen is quite common, being the fifth most common surname in both countries.[3][4] The name is also found to a lesser extent in northern Germany, e.g. the German vocalist Lale Andersen (1905–1972).[5]

The Scandinavian forms Andersson and Andersen were often rendered as Anderson by immigrants to the English-speaking countries, whereby the latter form became one of the most common surnames in Anglophone North America. The name was the eleventh most common surname reported in the 1990 United States census, accounting for 0.3% of the population.[6] It was the twelfth most common surname reported in the 2000 United States Census.[7] Anderson is also one of the most popular surnames in Canada.[8]

Other spelling variations include: Andison, Andersonne, Andersoun, Andirsoone, Andresoun, Androson, Andirston, Andresson, Andrewson, and Andresen.

People

edit

Family

edit
  • Anderson family, a group of American professional wrestlers who are billed as relatives:

Fictional characters

edit

See also

edit

Individuals née Anderson

edit
  • Addie Anderson Wilson née Anderson (1876–1966), American composer, organist and carillonist
  • Amy Olson née Anderson (born 1992), professional golfer
  • Beverley Manley née Anderson (born 1941), Jamaican political scientist
  • Cheri Keaggy née Anderson (born 1968), American gospel singer and songwriter
  • Constance Sladen née Anderson (1848–1906), English architectural historian and philanthropist
  • Cora Roberton née Anderson (1881–1962), New Zealand nurse (1881–1962)

Other individuals

edit
  • Adam West born William West Anderson (1928–2017), American actor
  • Agnes Campbell (printer), married name Anderson, (1637–1716), Scottish printer and book merchant
  • Aisling Loftus, married name Anderson, (born 1990), English actress
  • Anderson .Paak born Brandon Paak Anderson (born 1986), American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer
  • Andrea Anderson-Mason (living), Canadian politician
  • Big Sean aka Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born 1988), American rapper from Michigan
  • Bob Andy aka Keith Anderson (1944–2020), Jamaican vocalist and songwriter
  • Cheerleader Melissa aka Melissa Anderson (born 1982), American professional wrestler

References

edit
  1. ^ "Anderson Meaning and Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014
  2. ^ Efternamn, topp 100 – Statistics Sweden
  3. ^ Statistics Norway
  4. ^ [1] Statistics Denmark
  5. ^ Lehrke, G.: Wie einst Lili Marleen—Das Leben der Lale Andersen, Henschel Verlag, 2002; ISBN 978-3-89487-429-2. In German.
  6. ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 4 July 2008.
  7. ^ "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000 – U.S. Census Bureau". Archived from the original on 21 December 2009.
  8. ^ CBC News In Depth: Common surnames