Anders is a male name in

Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also ...

and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek

Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

("manly") and the English

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names for many centuries, earliest attested in 1378. It was common for priests and farmers during medieval times. According to

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( sv, Statistiska centralbyrån ; SCB) is the Swedish government agency operating under the Ministry of Finance and responsible for producing official statistics for decision-making, debate and research. The agency's responsibi ...

, as of 31 December 2002 it ranks 4th among the male names. The great frequency of this name at the point in time (around 1900) when

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...

s were converted into

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

s is the reason why 1 out of every 30 Swedes today is called

Andersson Andersson (previously Andjersson) is a Swedish language surname, a form of the surname Anderson. ''Andersson'' is, if several spelling variants are included, the most common surname in Sweden.name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

of Anders in the Scandinavian calendar is 30 November, and in the old peasant superstition that day was important for determining what the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

weather would be. If it was very cold on 30 November there would be much sleet on Christmas (and vice versa). In Denmark

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

's name is ''Anders And''. The Fering name Anders may have been borrowed from the Danish version.

People

Given name

A–E

Anders Aarum Anders Aarum (born 17 December 1974 in Moss, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, known from numerous albums and international collaborations like Sonny Simmons, Ola Kvernberg, Tine Asmundsen, Sigurd Køhn, Børre Dalhaug, Nora Brockstedt an ...

(born 1974), Norwegian jazz pianist *

Anders Aalborg Anders Olav Aalborg (August 24, 1914 – February 13, 2000) was a teacher and a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1948 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit caucus, and served in the cabinet ...

(1914–2000), Canadian teacher and politician *

Anders Ahlgren Anders Oscar Ahlgren (12 February 1888 – 27 December 1976) was a Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler. He was a world champion in 1913 and finished second in 1911 and 1922. At the 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommar ...

(1888–1976), Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler * Anders Andersen (1912–2006), Danish politician *

Anders Antonsen Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with th ...

(born 1997), Danish badminton player *

Anders Anundsen Anders Anundsen (born 17 November 1975) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party who served as Minister of Justice from 2013 to 2016. He was also a member of the Norwegian parliament, representing Vestfold from 2005 to 2017. A jurist ...

(born 1975), Norwegian politician *

Anders Aplin Anders Aplin is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a defender for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore national team. Club career Youth career Anders was part of the Singapore Sports School's inaug ...

(born 1991), Singapore football player *

Anders Arborelius Lars Anders Cardinal Arborelius (; born 24 September 1949) is a Swedish Catholic cardinal. He has been Bishop of Stockholm since 1998. Pope Francis made him a cardinal, the first ever from Sweden and Scandinavia, on 28 June 2017. Early li ...

(born 1949), Swedish Roman Catholic cardinal *

Anders Askevold Anders Askevold (25 December 1834 – 22 October 1900) was a Norwegian painter. His art was characterized by romantic national expression. He was best known for his fjord landscapes from Western Norway. Biography Anders Monsen Askevold was ...

(1834–1900), Norwegian painter *

Anders August Anders Frithiof August (born 15 June 1978 in Copenhagen) is a Danish screenwriter, graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2007. He wrote the short film '' The Pig'', that was nominated for an Oscar in 2009. In 2011 he won the D ...

(born 1978), Danish screenwriter *

Anders Aukland Anders Aukland (born 12 September 1972 in Tønsberg) is a professional Norwegian cross-country skier who has won both Olympic and World Championship gold medals. He lives in Oslo. Aukland also used to compete in athletics, and is a former nat ...

(born 1972), Norwegian cross-country skier * Anders Bjork, American

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Anders Björklund Anders Björklund' (born 11 July 1945) is a Swedish neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of cell- and gene-based reparative and neuroprotective mechanisms in the brain. He has spent his academic career at Lund University in Sweden, as profess ...

(born 1945), Swedish neuroscientist *

Anders Björler Anders Björler (born 26 February 1973) is a Swedish musician, composer and film director. He is best known as the guitar player in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler. Björle ...

(born 1973), Swedish musician and songwriter *

Anders Blume Anders Blume (born December 7, 1985) is a Danish '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' commentator and co-founder of RoomOnFire. He has been present as a caster at all of the Valve sponsored CS:GO Majors, with the exception of EMS One Katowice 20 ...

(born in 1985), Danish CS:GO commentator *

Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...

(born 1979), Norwegian terrorist and right-wing extremist * Anders Boesen (born 1976), Danish badminton player * Anders Brännström (born 1957), Swedish Army major general * Anders Callert (born 1965), Swedish Army major general * Anders Carlsson (ice hockey) (born 1960), "Masken", Swedish ice hockey player *

Anders Celsius Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germ ...

(1701–1744), Swedish astronomer * Anders Danielsen Lie (born 1979), Norwegian actor, musician and medical doctor *

Anders Eklund (boxer) Anders Eklund (22 December 1957 – 1 April 2010) was a Swedish boxer. He was nicknamed ''Lillen'' (Swedish: "Tiny"), but later chose the nickname "Viking". Eklund was born in Gävle. He competed in the Heavyweight division (91 kg) at ...

(1957–2010), Swedish boxer * Anders Eriksson (born 1975), Swedish ice hockey player

F–L

* Anders Fannemel (born 1991), Norwegian ski jumper * Anders Frandsen (1960-c. 2012), Danish actor and musician, Danish representative in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest *

Anders Fridén Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project. Career Early career Fridén was original ...

(born 1973), Swedish death metal singer for the band In Flames * Anders Gärderud (born 1946), Swedish steeplechase runner * Anders Abraham Grafström (1790–1870), Swedish poet and historian * Anders Hedberg (born 1951), Swedish pioneering ice hockey player *

Anders Hejlsberg Anders Hejlsberg (, born 2 December 1960) is a Danish software engineer who co-designed several programming languages and development tools. He was the original author of Turbo Pascal and the chief architect of Delphi. He currently works for Mic ...

(born 1960), Danish software engineer *

Anders Holm Anders Christian Holm (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show ''Workaholics'' and starred in the short-lived NBC series '' Champions''. He, along wi ...

, American writer and one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show ''Workaholics'' * Anders Holmertz (born 1968), Swedish retired swimmer, twice freestyle world champion * Anders Jacobsen (ski jumper) (born 1985), Norwegian ski jumper *

Anders Järryd Anders Per Järryd (; born 13 July 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles (three French Open, two Wimbledon, two US Open, one Australian Open), reached the world No ...

(born 1961), Swedish former tennis doubles player, winner of eight Grand Slam titles * Anders Kaliff (born 1963), Swedish archaeologist * Anders Lange (1904–1974), Norwegian politician * Anders Langlands, visual effects supervisor * Anders Lee (born 1990), American ice hockey player for the New York Islanders * Anders Limpar (born 1965), Swedish footballer * Anders Lindegaard (born 1984), Danish footballer * Anders Linderoth (born 1950), Swedish professional football player and coach *

Anders Lindström Anders Lindström, or Boba Fett, as he is often called, is a Swedish rock musician most known for being the organist and pianist of the Swedish rock band The Hellacopters and co-founder and guitarist of The Diamond Dogs. Life and career Lindst ...

(born 1969), Swedish rock guitarist and pianist *

(born 1955), Swedish Army officer * Anders Lustgarten, British playwright * Anders Olson Lysne (1764-1803), Norwegian rebel leader

M–Z

* Anders Nilsen (disambiguation), multiple people * Anders Örne (1881–1956), Swedish politician * Anders Österberg (born 1981), Swedish politician *

Anders Holch Povlsen Anders Holch Povlsen (born 4 November 1972) is a Danish billionaire, CEO and sole owner of the international retail clothing chain Bestseller (which includes Vero Moda and Jack&Jones), a company founded by his parents. He is the largest shareh ...

(born 1972), Danish billionaire, CEO and sole owner of the international retail clothing chain Bestseller * Anders Sandøe Ørsted (1778–1860), Danish politician and jurist, Prime Minister of Denmark (1853–1854) *

Anders Sandøe Ørsted (botanist) Anders Sandøe Ørsted, also written as ''Anders Sandoe Oersted'' or ''Anders Sandö Örsted'' (21 June 1816 – 3 September 1872) was a Danish botanist, mycologist, zoologist and marine biologist. He was the nephew of physicist Hans Christian Ø ...

(1816–1872), Danish botanist, mycologist, zoologist and marine biologist, nephew of the prime minister * Anders Rapp (1927–1998), Swedish geographer *

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of polit ...

(born 1953), Danish politician, Secretary General of NATO * Anders Södergren (born 1977), Swedish cross-country skier * Anders Svensson (bandy) (born 1975), Swedish bandy player * Anders Svensson (canoeist) (born 1977), Swedish canoer * Anders Svensson (footballer, born 1976), Swedish footballer * Anders Svensson (footballer, born 1939) (1939–2007), Swedish footballer * Anders Sunesen (c. 1167–1228), Danish archbishop *

Anders Erikson Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748, Tensta, Uppland – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish naturalist, abolitionist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography left, Miniature of Sparrman at the time of his travels with James Cook. By unknown art ...

(1748–1820), Swedish naturalist and abolitionist * Anders Szalkai (born 1970), Swedish retired long-distance runner * Anders Thunborg (1934–2004), Swedish politician and diplomat * Anders Wijkman (born 1944), Swedish politician *

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish painter. He attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. Among Zorn's portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three America ...

(1860–1920), Swedish painter, sculptor and printmaker

Middle name

* Paul Anders Ogren (born 1951), American carpenter, farmer, and politician * David Anders Holt (born 1981), known professionally as David Anders, American television and stage actor

Surname

Allison Anders Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include ''Gas Food Lodging'', '' Mi Vida Loca'' and '' Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Televis ...

(born 1954), American film and television director *

Andrea Anders Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...

(born 1975), American actress * Andy Anders (born 1956), Louisiana state representative * Benny Anders (born 1963), American basketball player * Christian Anders (born 1945), Austrian singer and composer * Ernst Anders (1845–1911), German painter * Eryk Anders (born 1987), American mixed martial artist *

Frank L. Anders Frank LaFayette Anders (November 10, 1875 – January 23, 1966) was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Philippine–American War. He went on to become a noteworthy engineer, businessman, amateur mili ...

(1875–1966), U.S. Army soldier awarded the Medal of Honor *

Günther Anders Günther Anders (born Günther Siegmund Stern, 12 July 1902 – 17 December 1992) was a German-Austrian Jewish émigré, philosopher, essayist and journalist. Trained in the phenomenological tradition, he developed a philosophical anthropol ...

(1902–1992), German thinker * Günther Anders (cinematographer) (1908–1977), German cinematographer * Merry Anders (1932–2012), American actress * Peter Anders (tenor) (1908–1954), German operatic tenor *

Rob Anders Robert J. "Rob" Anders (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former politician. He represented the riding of Calgary West from 1997 until 2015 and was a founding member of the Conservative Party of Canada. On April 12, 2014, Anders was defeated b ...

(born 1972), Canadian politician *

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in scho ...

(born 1963), stage name of German singer Bernd Weidung *

William Anders William Alison Anders (born 17 October 1933) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general, former electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of Apollo 8, t ...

(born 1933), Apollo 8 astronaut, former U.S. Air Force officer, and businessman *

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyear ...

(1892–1970), Polish general and politician

Stage name

* Anders (singer), Canadian R&B singer and songwriter

Fictional characters

* Anders (Dragon Age), a character in the ''Dragon Age'' video game series * Andurs, a Nord priest of Arkay, and Anders (deceased bandit), characters in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game heavily influenced by Scandinavian culture * Captain Leslie Anders, supporting character in the 1968 movie ”Ice Station Zebra”, played by the actor Jim Brown. *

Joseph Anders Joseph Anders is a fictional character from the ABC television series ''Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. Portrayed by Lee Bergere, the character is introduced in the series' 1981 pilot episode as the majordomo of Denver oil tyco ...

, a character in the U.S. TV series ''Dynasty'' and its reboot

References

{{given name, type=both Scandinavian masculine given names Danish masculine given names Norwegian masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Surnames from given names