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HelpHow do you go from Andrews to Anderson?
My maternal grandma told me the origin of how my family go the name Anderson. Back in the early 1900s during the U.S. census, my family change the name from Andrews to Anderson which my grandma said they made it up. which makes me wonder how you go from Andrews to Anderson, that’s not exactly a name you pull out of thin air. My family must have saw the name “Anderson” somewhere but to no avail that’s all my grandma could tell me about the origin of the name since my ancestors never wrote our family history down anywhere.
This message was edited 11/27/2024, 3:11 PM
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Realistic Edition: Theophilus has a rich Uncle Andrew. To ensure he was kept in the will, Theophilus names his firstborn son Andrew. Andrew dies, so son #2 is also called Andrew. The cycle repeats multiple times to ensure there is an Andrew in the family when rich Uncle Andrew dies. By this time, the family is known as the "Andrews family", after which Chester is born. Andrew Andrews and his first wife have a son, Rupert. Chester introduces Rupert as "Andrew's son". Down the years it gets contracted to "Andy's son" then "Anderson".
Family Feud Edition: Andrew Andrews' first wife dies childless, and he remarries. The new couple have a son, Bryan Andrews. Chester is fiercely loyal to Wife #1 and ignores Wife #2. Therefore, he insists on introducing his nephew Bryan as "Andy and her son". Bryan then gets married and has a son, Marcus. Bryan and Chester have a fight. Marcus takes Great Uncle Chester's side, right up to the point of changing his name to Marcus Anderson.
Misheard Edition: After Wife #2 dies, Andrew Andrews emigrates to America with their youngest son. At the dock, Andrew yells at a dog sniffing around their luggage. He then says to the immigration agent "My name is Andrew Andrews, and this is my son." The busy and distracted immigration agent records their names as "Doug and Andrew Anderson."
Family Feud Edition: Andrew Andrews' first wife dies childless, and he remarries. The new couple have a son, Bryan Andrews. Chester is fiercely loyal to Wife #1 and ignores Wife #2. Therefore, he insists on introducing his nephew Bryan as "Andy and her son". Bryan then gets married and has a son, Marcus. Bryan and Chester have a fight. Marcus takes Great Uncle Chester's side, right up to the point of changing his name to Marcus Anderson.
Misheard Edition: After Wife #2 dies, Andrew Andrews emigrates to America with their youngest son. At the dock, Andrew yells at a dog sniffing around their luggage. He then says to the immigration agent "My name is Andrew Andrews, and this is my son." The busy and distracted immigration agent records their names as "Doug and Andrew Anderson."
This message was edited 11/29/2024, 12:08 AM
It might have been a recording mistake that stuck, those were very common, and the names have the same root (descending from someone named Andrew or Anders).
If it was deliberate maybe they liked it better for some reason? Wanted to distinguish themselves from a family with the same name?
If it was deliberate maybe they liked it better for some reason? Wanted to distinguish themselves from a family with the same name?
This message was edited 11/28/2024, 4:38 AM
Andrew and Anders are just different forms of the same name. Adding just an s onto a form of a given name is the Welsh way of making a "son" name.
SO Andrews and Anderson both mean son (or descendant) of Andrew/Anders.
SO Andrews and Anderson both mean son (or descendant) of Andrew/Anders.
Maybe the census taker wrote "And(scribble)" which was later read as Anderson and the family just went with it? Or was she saying the family specifically decided to change it to Anderson?
the family specifically decided to randomly change it to Anderson
What ethnicities are in the family? Andrews and Anderson are both listed as English surnames for "son of Andrew" but they could have chosen Anderson because it's closer to Andersen or Anderssen if they have any Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish connections?
we’re black americans
They might have wanted to separate themselves from their old surname since a lot of Black people, after being emancipated, took on the names of their former 'owners.' That's my only guess, anyway.
that’s possible
Andrews to Andrewson to Anderson wouldn't be much of a leap; maybe they preferred the N ending, then someone spelled it as Anderson because that's more common.
This message was edited 11/27/2024, 5:01 PM