Anderson — Son of Andrew

Anderson is ‘Andrew's son’, and in Ireland it has two routes. Most Ulster Andersons are Lowland Scots stock whose ancestors came before, during and after the Plantation, settling heavily in Derry, Antrim and Down. But the same spelling was also used for the Gaelic Mac Aindriú, and for Mac Giolla Aindréis, ‘son of the servant of Andrew’.

A saint shared by both countries, which is exactly why the name arrived twice and then settled under one spelling.

Irish form: Mac Aindriú