Anders

Anders is a name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, the equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew.

In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names for many centuries. According to Statistics Sweden, as of December 31, 2002, it ranks 4th among the male names. The great frequency of this name at the point in time (around 1900) when patronymics were converted into family names is the reason why 1 out of every 30 Swedes today are called Andersson.

The name day of Anders in the Scandinavian calendar is November 30, and in the old peasant superstition that day was important for determining what the Christmas weather would be. If it was very cold on November 30, there would be much sleet on Christmas (and vice versa).

In Denmark (but not in Norway or Sweden), Donald Duck's name is Anders And.

The Fering name Anders may have been borrowed from the Danish version. The equivalent of Anders in Basque is Ander, which is also a very common name.