Anderson
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Meaning
surname, "son of Andrew"; Brazil turned it into a first name and made it a defining boy name of the 1980s and 90s
The story
Anderson is a Scottish and Scandinavian surname, "son of Andrew," and in the English-speaking world it mostly stayed a surname. Brazil had other plans. Beginning in the 1970s and exploding through the 1980s, Brazilian parents adopted English surnames as first names with an enthusiasm the names' home countries never showed, and Anderson led the movement: Brazil's 2010 census counted more than 473,000 of them, ahead of even Jessica and Vanessa. The wave changed Brazilian naming permanently, because alongside the borrowed Andersons came home-grown inventions like Adilson and Wanderson, built on the same "-son" ending by parents who simply liked the pattern. In the US, meanwhile, Anderson stayed rare as a first name until cable news gave it a familiar face. One name, two hemispheres, opposite lives.
Anderson across languages
One shared root links 9 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Andreas, related to "man" and "manly"; the apostle’s name has related forms across languages
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Anderson around the world?
In the United States, 6,643 babies were named Anderson between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 445,547 people in Brazil were named Anderson, the 56th most common name, with a median age of 33.
Anderson is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Montevideo, Mexico City, Chile, Canada, Scotland, Argentina, South Australia, Spain, France and England and Wales.
Anderson crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 3,300
In the United States, 6,643 babies were named Anderson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Anderson peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 460
At the 2022 census, 445,547 people in Brazil were named Anderson, the 56th most common name, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Anderson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 4,157 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
1 in 2,7002011
In Montevideo, 9 boys named Anderson were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Mexico City City
1 in 5,600
In Mexico City, there were 21 registrations of Anderson in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 6,800
In Chile, 26 boys were registered as Anderson in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 8,100
In Canada, 45 boys named Anderson were born in 2024, the 607th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 9,200
In Scotland, 5 boys named Anderson were registered in 2024, the 535th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Argentina
1 in 13,000
In Argentina, 51 newborns were given the name Anderson in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Anderson in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Spain
1 in 32,000
In Spain, 1,421 residents are named Anderson, ranked 1,055th among men, with a mean age of 31.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 boys named Anderson were born in 2025, ranked 1,928th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 boys named Anderson were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
last on record 2016
Anderson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2012
Anderson is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Poland
last on record 2016
Anderson is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2009
Anderson is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 56 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Anderson
Most people given the name Anderson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Anderson · Names that go with Anderson · English-Brazilian names
The Anderson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Anderson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Anderson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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