Fun Facts About the Name Andersen
- More than 1 thousand babies named Andersen: U.S. records list 1,284 babies given the name Andersen from 1880 through 2025. Even 336 girls received the name Andersen - about 1 girl for every 3 boys.
What Does the Name Andersen Mean?
Andersen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders." It is not a descriptive word with a meaning of its own: the sense comes from the father's given name, Anders, plus the suffix -sen ("son"). So Andersen literally means "Anders's son," and the meaning belongs to the father, not to the person who carried the name.
Anders is the Danish and Norwegian form of Andrew, which comes from the Greek Andreas. That Greek name is usually traced to andreios, "manly" or "of a man," from anēr (genitive andros), "man." Taken all the way back, the name means something like "son of the manly one" or "son of Andrew." The name spread through Scandinavia with the Christian use of the apostle Andrew, whose name was commonly given in medieval Denmark and Norway.
Andersen Name History & Origins
Patronymics built with -sen are characteristic of Danish and Norwegian naming. A child, usually a son, took the father's given name plus the suffix, so a boy whose father was called Anders would be recorded as Andersen. The same pattern appears in Sweden as -sson and in Iceland as -son. The related English form is Anderson, and the similar look of these names reflects a shared patronymic habit rather than a single origin.
These names began as descriptions, not as fixed family names. Each generation could take a new patronymic, so a man named Andersen might have a son recorded under a different second name. Hereditary surnames spread slowly: in Denmark many families adopted fixed surnames during the 1800s, and in Norway patronymics stayed common until hereditary surnames became the legal norm in the early 1900s. In many Scandinavian families the patronymic only became permanent within the last few generations.
The best-known bearer is the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875), whose fairy tales made the name familiar far beyond Scandinavia. In his own family the name was still working as a patronymic: his father was a shoemaker named Hans Andersen. The author's fame is a literary association, not the origin of the name, which was already in use as an ordinary Danish patronymic. Outside Scandinavia, and especially in the United States, Andersen has occasionally been used as a given name, transferred from the surname.
How Popular is the Name Andersen?
Andersen has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2015. Its best rank was #2,488 in 2015.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,108 | 25 | 0.0016% |
| 2024 | #5,790 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 2023 | #5,978 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2022 | #9,107 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #6,986 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 2020 | #6,097 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 2019 | #8,176 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2018 | #8,657 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #7,866 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #6,006 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #7,306 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #8,511 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #12,090 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #11,349 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #10,445 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #12,375 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #9,431 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2008 | #10,145 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #14,045 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #9,343 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #11,920 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #14,315 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #13,991 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #11,203 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #12,184 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #11,901 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #14,280 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #13,540 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #11,867 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,955 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2024 | #4,424 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2023 | #5,942 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #3,776 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 2021 | #4,017 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2020 | #3,572 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2019 | #3,264 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 2018 | #2,750 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 2017 | #2,675 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 2016 | #2,554 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 2015 | #2,488 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2014 | #2,931 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2013 | #2,765 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2012 | #3,007 | 38 | 0.0020% |
| 2011 | #2,951 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2010 | #2,960 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2009 | #2,562 | 49 | 0.0025% |
| 2008 | #2,789 | 43 | 0.0021% |
| 2007 | #2,534 | 49 | 0.0024% |
| 2006 | #3,088 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 2005 | #3,534 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2004 | #4,800 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #3,985 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2002 | #6,108 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #6,472 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #4,587 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #7,178 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #4,209 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1997 | #3,458 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1996 | #4,898 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #7,829 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #7,818 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #6,250 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #4,887 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #6,544 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #7,326 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Andersen Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Andersen's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Andersen's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.