Where did the name Anderson come from? What is their coat of arms? When did the Anderson family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

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Anderson Coat of Arms and Name History

Anderson

Origin Displayed: Scottish

Origins Available: Danish, German, Scottish, Swedish

Spelling variations of this family name include: Anderson, Andison, Andersonne, Andersoun, Andirsoone, Andresoun, Androson, Andirston, Andrewson and many more.

First found in the Great Glen and Strathspey , where the Anderson family was seated from ancient times.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Thomas Anderson, who settled in Virginia in 1634; as did Joseph Anderson and Richard Anderson in 1635; Alester Anderson, who came to New England in 1652.

Motto Translated: Stand sure

Suggested Readings for the name Anderson
"The Andersons of Rowlett's Creek" by W. Clytes Anderson Cullar and Jerry M. Flook, "Descendants of Capt. Henry Anderson, Sr., of Newberry County, South Carolina" by Lucien L. McNees.

Some noteworthy people of the name Anderson

Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941), American writer who had a profound influence on American fiction
Robert Anderson (1917-2009), American Academy Award–nominated playwright and screenwriter, best known for his work "Tea and Sympathy"
Philip Warren Anderson (b. 1923), American scientist who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems
Gillian Anderson (b. 1968), actress best known for her role as Dana Scully in the television series "The X-Files."
Michael P Anderson (1959-2003), astronaut on board the Space Shuttle Columbia when it broke up during re-entry
Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), American composer
Hunk Anderson (1898-1978), American football player
George Anderson (b. 1934), original name of Sparky Anderson
John August Anderson (1876-1959), American physicist and astronomer
Marian Anderson (b. 1902), American concert and opera singer
Mary Anderson (1859-1940), American actress
Beauford T Anderson (1922-1996), American soldier, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945 for heroism in WWII
Richard Beatty Anderson (1921-1944), American WWII private, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. (1927-1962), the first recipient of the Air Force Cross. He was shot down over Cuba on October 27, 1962, while flying a U-2 spy plane
Dave Anderson (b. 1929), American sportswriter who won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
Nick Anderson, American editorial cartoonist awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
Carl David Anderson (1905-1991), American physicist awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics
Loni Kaye Anderson (b. 1945), American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Marlowe on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati
Thomas Anderson (1819-1874), Scottish organic chemist
Michael Anderson (b. 1920), British film director
Malcolm Anderson (b. 1935), top-ranking Australian tennis player from the middle 1950s to the early 1970s
Roberta Joan Anderson (b. 1943), original name of Canadian Joni Mitchell
Gerry Anderson MBE (b. 1929), British producer, director and writer
James Norman Dalrymple Anderson (b. 1908), English scholar
John Anderson (1893-1962), Australian philosopher
Dame Judith Anderson AC, DBE (1897-1992), Australian actress generally regarded by theater critics as the greatest classical actress produced by Australia
General Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson KCB, MC (1891-1959), British Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Groves Wright Anderson (1897-1988), Australian soldier awarded the Victoria Cross during WWII
Eric Anderson (1915-1943), British medic awarded the Victoria Cross during WWII
Major John Thompson McKellar Anderson (1918-1943), British soldier awarded the Victoria Cross during WWII
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917), English, first female medical doctor in Britain

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