ANDERSON / MacANDREW / GILLANDERS, etc., are all surnames with the name ‘ANDREW’ at the heart, which is a Greek name meaning “manly” which is claimed to have been in use for well over two thousand years. Perhaps the most famous man to bear the name was the first Disciple of Christ, who became the Patron Saint of not only Russia, Rumania, Prussia, Amalfi and Patras in Greece, but also of Scotland.
Legend has it that the relics of St. Andrew were brought under supernatural guidance by St. Regulus from Constantinople to the place where the modern St. Andrews now stands. Whether this is true or not, it was about the middle of the 10th century, when St. Andrew became the Patron Saint of Scotland and the use of Andrew as a Christian name subsequently became widely popular. Going by the number of English parish churches dedicated to St. Andrew, it is also clear that the name became very popular in widespread areas throughout the British Isles and even ranked a mention of one “Andreas” in the Doomsday Book of 1086.”
In England, the registers of "The Guild of Corpus Christi of the City of York" reveal one 'Androson' in 1455 and an 'Androwson' in 1482. The name Anderson has proliferated wherever emigres from these shores ended up and due to the particular popularity of the name in Scotland, this often, but not exclusively, leads back to Scottish ancestry for large numbers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. However, many of the American Andersons are of Swedish origin (Andersson is the most prevalent name in the Stockholm telephone directory). To a lesser degree, Andersons are indigenous all over Europe, the origin of the name being the same in most countries where it is found, and its pan-European popularity undoubtedly stems from St Andrew.