Anderson (surname)
In Scotland, the name was first found in the Great Glen and Strathspey, where the Anderson family was seated from ancient times. The name soon migrated to England.
The name is the second-most common name in Sweden, where it is mostly written Andersson but occasionally Anderson. In Norway and Denmark, the cognate Andersen is most common. The Scandinavian forms were usually rendered as Anderson by immigrants to the United States, helping it become one of the most common American surnames. The name was eleventh most common surname reported in the 1990 United States census, accounting for 0.3% of the population. It is the twelfth most common surname reported in the 2000 United States Census. Anderson is also one of the most common surnames in Canada.
According to House of Names, the commonality of the name is due to the popularity of the name Anders at the time patronymic family names were being adopted.
From About.com: "Andrew (man, manly) was the first of Jesus' disciples, and was a revered name in medieval times due to its church connections. St. Andrew is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia." In many cases the name, or at least its commonality, may be influenced by the christianization of Scandinavia. At the time, massive persecution of Heathens would have made taking or giving a Christian name attractive to many, resulting in the popularity of the name Anders, and thus Andersson.
Other spelling variations include: Andison, Andersonne, Andersoun, Andirsoone, Andresoun, Androson, Andirston, Andresson, Andrewson, and Andresen.
Anderson or Andersson as a surname may refer to:
- Anderson (footballer), various Brazilian football (soccer) players
- Anderson family, group of professional wrestlers who are billed as relatives
- Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson, social scientist, author of Imagined Communities
- Benny Andersson (born 1946), former member of the band ABBA
- Bibi Andersson Swedish actress
- Bob Anderson, (born 1947), American runner
- Brady Anderson, American professional baseball player
- Brett Lewis Anderson, (born 1967) English singer-songwriter
- Carlotta Adele Anderson (born 1876), teacher of the deaf and dumb
- Clayton Conrad Anderson (born 1959), American NASA astronaut
- Clive Anderson, British lawyer and comedian
- Daniel Andersson, (born 1977), Swedish footballer, younger brother of Patrik and son of Roy
- Edmund E. Anderson, American auto designer
- G Anderson, First class cricketer
- Galusha Anderson, American theologian
- Gary Anderson (F1 designer), former Formula One racing car designer
- Gerald Anderson,Filipino celebrity
- Gerry Anderson, British television producer and puppeteer "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet"
- Gillian Anderson (born 1968), American actress
- Glenn Anderson, Canadian ice hockey player
- Håkan Andersson, Director of European Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings professional ice hockey team
- Håkan Andersson, Swedish former motocross World Champion
- Ho Che Anderson, American comic book artist
- Ivie Anderson (1904 – 1949), American jazz singer
- Ian Anderson (musician) (born 1947), Scottish singer, songwriter and flautist, with Jethro Tull
- Ian A. Anderson, folk musician and editor of "fRoots" magazine
- Jack Anderson (1922-2005), American journalist
- Jane Anderson (born 1954), American actress, screenwriter and director
- Jason P. Anderson (born 1982), Pro Football Player
- Jason Anderson, baseball player
- Joakim Andersson (born 1971), Swedish diver
- Jodi Anderson (born 1957), American heptathlete
- John Anderson (disambiguation page)
- Jon Anderson (born 1944), English musician and singer, with Yes
- Judith Anderson (1897 - 1992), Australian film actress
- Ken Anderson (born 1976), American wrestler for WWE known as Mr. Kennedy
- Kennet Andersson (born 1967), Swedish footballer
- Kenneth Anderson (1891 - 1959), British World War II general
- Laurie Anderson (born 1947), American singer and performance artist
- Liz Anderson (born 1930), American country music singer
- Loni Anderson, American actress
- Louie Anderson, American comedian
- Louis Anderson, New Zealand rugby player
- Lymon Anderson, Wisconsin Statesman
- Lynn Anderson (born 1947), American country music singer
- Marc Anderson, American percussionist
- Margaret Caroline Anderson (1886 - 1973), American founder, The Little Review
- Mark Anderson (writer) (born 1967), American journalist and author
- Mark Anderson (football player), American Football player
- Martina Anderson (born 1962), Northern Irish politician
- Melissa Sue Anderson (born 1962), American actress
- Miller Anderson (1922-1965), American diver
- Oskar Johann Viktor Anderson (1887 – 1960), Russian-German statistician
- Ove Andersson (1938 - 2008), Swedish rally driver and head of Toyota's Formula One program
- Pamela Denise Anderson (born 1967), Canadian-American glamour model and actress
- Pamela Sue Anderson, British philosopher
- Patrik Andersson (born 1971), former Swedish footballer, son to Roy and brother to Daniel
- Philip Warren Anderson (born 1923), American theoretical physicist
- Poul Anderson (born 1926), American science fiction author
- Robert Anderson, various people
- Roy Andersson (footballer) (born 1949), former Swedish footballer and father to Patrik and Daniel.
- Richard Dean Anderson (born 1950), American actor
- Russell Anderson (born 1978), Scottish footballer
- Samuel Anderson (1773 – 1850), American legislator
- Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941), American writer
- Stephen Wayne Anderson (1953-2002), executed Utah assualter and California murderer of Elizabeth Lyman
- Samuel Anderson (actor), British
- Theodore Wilbur Anderson, Jr. (1918 – ?), American statistician, co-inventor of the Anderson-Darling test
- Thomas Anderson, various people
- Tom Anderson, various people
- Victor Anderson, various people
- Wes Anderson, film director
- William Anderson (Canadian politician), politician
- William Louis Anderson, Former Bishop of Portsmouth and Salisbury
Fictional characters:
- Thomas A. Anderson ("Neo"), character from The Matrix
- Judge Anderson, character from Judge Dredd
- Alexander Anderson (Hellsing), character in the Japanese anime/manga series
- Amy Anderson, the name briefly used by Sailor Moon character Ami Mizuno
- Tom Anderson, neighbor from Beavis and Butthead
- Sgt. Anderson, character in the 1980s Vietnam War TV series Tour of Duty
See also
Notes
References
- Coats of arms which have been used by members of the Anderson family
- House of Names: Anderson (Swedish surname)
- House of Names: Anderson (Scottish surname)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday September 30, 2008 at 18:40:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
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