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    The surnameAnderson

    An English patronymic surname, the 15th most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈæn.dɚ.sən/ 3 syllables Soundex A536 Also a first name

    Anderson: #15 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Anderson #15, 784,404 people Anderson: #15 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Anderson #15, 784,404 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Anderson is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    English origin

    From Middle English Ander (“Andrew”) + -son, after Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. In the United States, sometimes an anglicization of Danish and Norwegian Andersen or Swedish Andersson.

    Anderson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 784,404 people named Anderson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 394 Americans. That is up 2.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 762,394.

    #15
    rank among US surnames
    784,404
    people in 2010
    266
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2.9%
    change since 2000 (was #12)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #6Garcia1,166,120265
    #7Miller1,161,437266
    #8Davis1,116,357277
    #9Rodriguez1,094,924282
    #10Martinez1,060,159291
    #11Hernandez1,043,281296
    #12López874,523353

    Who is named Anderson

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    75% of people named Anderson identified as white (not Hispanic), 19% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 75%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 19%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Andersons

    254 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Gillian Anderson
      American actress (born 1968)
    • Carl David Anderson
      American physicist, 1905–1991
    • Philip W. Anderson
      American physicist (1923-2020)
    • Sherwood Anderson
      American writer (1876–1941)
    • Wes Anderson
      American filmmaker (born 1969)
    • Marian Anderson
      African-American contralto (1897–1993)
    • Paul Thomas Anderson
      American filmmaker (born 1970)
    • Benedict Anderson
      American political scientist (1936-2015)
    • Poul Anderson
      American science fiction writer (1926–2001)
    • Richard Dean Anderson
      American actor (born 1950)
    • Laurie Anderson
      American artist and musician (born 1947)
    • Anthony Anderson
      American actor (born 1970)

    Notable Andersons come mostly from the United States (208), Australia (20) and the United Kingdom (12).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    • Andison

    Surnames that sound like Anderson

    Anderson has the Soundex code A536, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code A536.

    Other English surnames

    All 1,446 English surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Anderson come from?
    From Middle English Ander (“Andrew”) + -son, after Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. In the United States, sometimes an anglicization of Danish and Norwegian Andersen or Swedish Andersson.
    How common is the surname Anderson?
    784,404 people in the United States had the surname Anderson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 394 Americans. It ranked 15th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Anderson?
    In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Anderson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 19% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Anderson?
    Gillian Anderson, American actress (born 1968), followed by Carl David Anderson.