Anderson.
a surname originating as a patronymic, borrowed from English and originally meaning “son of Andrew”
Meaning & usage
a surname originating as a patronymic, borrowed from English and originally meaning “son of Andrew”
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from English Anderson (“patronymic surname”), from Ander (“Andrew”) + -son (“patronymic suffix meaning “son of””), originally meaning “son of Andrew”. The English surname has also been used as an anglicized form of Scandinavian Andersen and Andersson. Compare the parallel Andersen, Andersen and Andersson (“patronymic surnames”).
a male given name from English, equivalent to English Anderson
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from English Anderson (“male given name”), transferred from the surname.
A place name: a river in British Columbia, Canada, flowing into the Fraser River near Boston Bar
A place name: a river in the Northwest Territories, Canada, flowing into the Beaufort Sea
A place name: a river in Indiana, United States, flowing into the Ohio River
A place name: a locality in Victoria, Australia
A place name: a town in Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Etowah County, Alabama, United States
A place name: a city in Denali Borough, Alaska, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Scott County, Arkansas, United States
A place name: a city in Shasta County, California, United States
A place name: a former settlement in Mendocino County, California, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Cass County, Illinois, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States
A place name: a city in Madison County, Indiana, United States; the county seat of Madison County
A place name: a city in McDonald County, Missouri, United States
A place name: a census-designated place in Warren County, New Jersey, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Ross County, Ohio, United States
A place name: a city in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States; the county seat of Anderson County
A place name: a town in Grimes County, Texas, United States; the county seat of Grimes County
A place name: a town in Burnett County, Wisconsin, United States
A place name: a town in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States
A place name: an unincorporated community in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States
A place name: Several townships in the United States; see Anderson Township.
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from English Anderson (“various place names”), mostly transferred from the English surname Anderson and named after individual bearers of that surname.
a village in Dorset, England, also constituting a civil parish
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from English Anderson (“village in Dorset”), from earlier English Anderston, from Middle English Andreuston. The Middle English name is equivalent in modern English to Andrew (“male given name”) + -s- (“genitive linking element”) + -ton (“settlement, town”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.