Sanders surname meaning

Sanders is chiefly a patronymic: it began as “son of Sander,” with Sander serving as a shortened form of Alexander. Alexander ultimately comes from a Greek name commonly interpreted as “defender of the people,” but that given-name meaning is one step behind the surname’s actual construction. English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, and German records all contain related forms, so Sanders does not point to one village. Sander and Saunders preserve the shorter and expanded spellings; Sanderson makes the descent formula explicit. Zander can be related in some families but also has separate regional histories.