Last name origin & meaning: Scottish and northern English: very common patronymic from the
personal name Ander(s), a northern Middle English form of
Andrew. See also Andreas. The frequency of the surname
in Scotland is attributable, at least in part, to the fact that St.
Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, so the personal name has long
enjoyed great popularity there. Legend has it that the saint’s relics
were taken to Scotland in the 4th century by a certain
St. Regulus. The surname was brought independently to North America by
many different bearers and was particularly common among 18th-century
Scotch-Irish settlers in PA and VA. In the United States, it has
absorbed many cognate or like-sounding names in other European
languages, notably Swedish Andersson, Norwegian and Danish
Andersen, but also Ukrainian Andreychyn, Hungarian
Andrásfi, etc. Famous people with this last name:
Gillian Anderson,
Pamela Anderson,
Richard Dean Anderson This name appears in the following lists:
Black History/Civil Rights Leaders,
Child Stars,
Composers,
Country Stars,
Poets
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