Andersen Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin

In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Andersen and how popular it is in the United States. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Andersen.

Andersen, like all of the names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Andersen surname is from the 2010 census data.

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What is the Origin and Meaning of the Last Name Andersen?

The surname Andersen originates from Scandinavia where it is commonly found in Sweden and Denmark. It is a patronymic surname that means “son of Anders.” The Anders given name, from which Anderson originates, itself derives from the Greek name Andreas which translates as manly or strong.

A notable bearer of the Andreas name was St. Andrew, one of Jesus’ apostles. Throughout Christian Europe prior to the 10^th century versions of the Andreas name were used exclusively as given names for members of the clergy. It was after the Crusades (1095-1291) that the popularity of the name spread throughout society.

In Sweden and Denmark Anders became a popular given name and with the advent of governments charging personal taxes in the 16^th century the need for surnames arose. The common Scandinavian practice became to take the father's given name and add "son" or "sen" to the end.

The Andersen name is also found in Scotland where the name Andrew, a derivative of Andreas, is exceptionally popular. This popularity is largely due to St. Andrew being the patron Saint of Scotland. The more common spelling of the name in Scotland is Anderson, however the Andersen spelling is also found locally. Early Viking settlers in the Northern Scottish Islands likely contributed to the more Scandinavian spelling.

Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) is a notable bearer of the name. Born in Odense, Denmark, Andersen is a world-renowned author whose works have delighted generations of young children. Hans' introduction to literature came in the form of his father reading him the Arabian Nights. Andersen's greatest success came from his iconic short stories including The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen and the Emperor's New Clothes.

Where Does Andersen Rank in the Most Common U.S. Names?

According to the data, Andersen is ranked #963 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

The Andersen surname appeared 36,150 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 12.26 would have the surname Andersen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Andersen to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

Race and Ethnic Origin of People with the Last Name Andersen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Andersen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups: "White only", "Black only", "American Indian and Alaskan Native only", "Asian and Pacific Islander only", "Two or More Races", and "Hispanic".

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Andersen was:

• 94.00%, or 33,981 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
• 0.82%, or 296 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
• 0.69%, or 249 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
• 0.40%, or 145 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
• 1.45%, or 524 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
• 2.63%, or 951 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Andersen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau.

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