An English and Scottish surname of Sanders, it comes from the name ‘Sander’ which comes from an ancient form of the name Alexander. This Greek name of Alexandros, originally ’Alexei’ means defender of men.

Variations in the spelling of Sanders include Sander, Sanderson and Sandersen.

In England the lower southwest corner of the country in Devon and Cornwall, along with London have the highest percentage of Sanders families. Scotland has Sander families in the southern counties, especially in Dumfries-shire. In Australia the Sanders surname is common, especially in the southeast portion.

Within the United States the Sanders surname is in the southern states from South Carolina to Texas. There are additional numbers of Sanders in the mid-west and northeast states.

Famous: Harland David Sanders (founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken), Deion Sander (baseball and football player), Louk Sanders (Dutch tennis player), Mike Sanders (wrestler), Scott Sanders (TV and film producer), William Sanders (science fiction writer) and Karl Sanders (musician).