MEANING & HISTORY
What does Anderson mean?
Anderson is formed from Ander, an older Andrew form, and the patronymic ending -son. The immediate meaning is son of Andrew.
The dictionary also notes possible American adaptations of Scandinavian surnames, which should not be assumed for every bearer. Andrew’s Greek man-related root explains the base name rather than an additional component of Anderson. A surname-derived given name can function independently today; the patronymic history does not require the current bearer’s father to be named Andrew.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Spanish
- /ˈandeɾson/
- [ˈãn̪.d̪eɾ.sõn]
An · der · son3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
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.
A male given name.
Wiktionary: Anderson (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Unadapted borrowing from English Anderson.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Anderson (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Anderson in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Anderson
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Anson♂Surname-derived form with competing family-name accounts
- Antero♂From Latin Anterus: flowery or blooming
- Emerson·Son of Emery; originally a surname
- Emmerson♂Son of Emery
- Gerson·Form in the Gersom/Gershom biblical name family
- Nelson♂Son of Neil; originally a surname
- Allison♀Form of Alison/Alice; also a surname name
- Allyson♀Variant of Alison, originally an Alice diminutive
What rhymes with Anderson?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Anderson further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Anderson (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Anderson (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources — Andrew (opens in a new tab)
Greek man-related root of explicitly documented base.