"Son of Andrew" originally signified a devotee of the patron saint of Scotland, St Andrew. It was the 8th most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995. Andrew is also a popular forename in Scotland. Unsurprisingly, "Anderson" is more frequent in the south and central Scotland and "MacAndrew" in the Highlands.
But a family in Islay named Macillandrais took the Lowland version Anderson, making life confusing for genealogists. The names are spread around Scotland and so there is no recognised "clan territory". However a group of MacAndrews were said to have originated in Moidart and moved to Badenoch around 1400.
The MacAndrews were associated with the MacDonnells of Glengarry and sometimes wear that tartan. However, the clan has been a sept of Clan Chattan since the 15th century.
An early appearance of the name was David le fitz Andreu who was a burgess in Peebles in the Scottish Borders, in the 13th century. A member of the MacAndrew Clan, Iain Beg MacAindrea, is reputed to have pursued a raiding party from Lochaber in 1670 and killed most of them with his longbow.
Andrew Anderson introduced printing to Glasgow in 1638 and was encouraged to move to Edinburgh to become the King's printer for Scotland in 1671.
Andersons from Dovehill have been traced back to 1540 and a John Anderson (1636-1710) from Dovehill was Lord Provost of Glasgow eight times. But he was not always fortunate - he invested 1,000 pounds in the disastrous Darien (Panama) scheme in 1696.
John Anderson, a Professor of Oriental Languages at Glasgow University in 1756 then became Professor of Natural Philosophy four years later. A bequest from him founded Anderson's College which became the Glasgow College of Technology and subsequently Strathclyde University.
The clan tartan (illustrated) is unique in having seven colours (all the others have six or less).
The motto of the Clan Anderson is "Stand Sure" and the clan is a sept of clan MacIntosh.
There are Web sites giving information on the Andersons here and here.
