Anders
A surname that usually began as a shortened form of Andrew or, in some cases, from a place-name in northern France.
The #2,343 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,850 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Anders is generally understood as a shortened or reduced form of Andrew, ultimately from the Greek name Andreas, meaning “manly” or “brave.” In English and Scots records it can appear as a clipped form of Anderson or Andrews, and some early bearers may simply have carried the familiar short form as a hereditary surname. A second, less common source noted by older scholarship is the French place-name Andres near Guines, which could also have produced a local surname in medieval records.
History
The surname appears in English records by the medieval period and is found as a shortened spelling alongside fuller forms such as Anderson and Andrews. It also occurs in German contexts, where similar forms could arise independently as nicknames or shortened given-name derivatives. Because the spelling is brief and widespread, Anders may have multiple independent origins in different regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older dictionaries note that people named Anders were sometimes recorded simply as a shortened form of Anderson or Andrews rather than as a separate family line.
From the historical record
“MDB. (Lincoln), 3. Andarson, Anders. — Bapt. 'the son of Andrew,' q.v. It was of irourse inevitable that Andrew- son should become toned down to Anderson. Even Andrews has occasionally assumed the form of”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances