Find out how popular the last name Zander is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Zander.

Zander, like all of the last 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 Zander surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zander in America

Zander is the 7373rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zander surname appeared 4,518 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Zander.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zander 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.

The history of the last name Zander

The surname Zander has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early 14th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Alexander, which itself comes from the Greek name Alexandros, meaning "defender of men."

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Zander, Zanders, and Zanderes in various German regions, particularly in the areas around the Rhine River and in Westphalia. These early variations likely arose from local dialects and accents.

One of the earliest known references to the Zander name can be found in the Werdener Urkundenbuch, a collection of medieval documents from the town of Werden, where a certain Hermannus Zander is mentioned in a record dated 1348.

The name Zander also appeared in the Bergisches Land, a region in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where a family bearing this surname owned land and properties in the 16th century. One notable member of this family was Johann Zander (1523-1597), a wealthy merchant and landowner.

In the 17th century, the name Zander spread to other parts of Germany, including Saxony and Brandenburg. During this time, the name was also found in the records of some German-speaking communities in neighboring countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland.

One of the earliest known Zanders in the Netherlands was Johan Zander (1612-1678), a merchant from Amsterdam who traded with the Dutch East Indies. In Switzerland, the name appeared in the canton of Basel, where a family of Zanders lived in the 18th century.

Among the notable historical figures bearing the Zander surname is Johann Zander (1796-1857), a German theologian and professor at the University of Greifswald. Another prominent Zander was Gustav Zander (1835-1920), a Swedish physician and inventor who developed various exercise machines and therapy devices.

Other notable individuals with the Zander surname include Ernst Zander (1854-1943), a German architect known for his work on churches and public buildings in Berlin, and Alfred Zander (1891-1959), an American artist and illustrator who worked for various publications and advertising agencies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zander

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

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

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

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 Zander has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Zander was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Zander, please contact us.

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