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The Sanderson family has a proud heritage in Colonial America, as well as in England, where it is one of the oldest surnames on record.
The origin of the surname "Sanderson" is Scottish and English. It's a patronymic from the personal name 'Sander', a reduced form of Alexander, or the classical Greek Alexandros, which probably originally meant ‘repulser of men’, from alexein (‘to repel’) + andros, genitive of aner (‘man’)—which makes it a rotten name for a woman.
The family Coat of Arms features six silver and blue stripes on a diagonal black stripe three gold rings. The Crest is a black dog on a green mound. The family motto, "Je suis veillant à plaire," means "I am watchful to please."
The Sanderson variant of the name is English in origin, and can first be found during the time of the Norman conquests, in the county of Durham. The family there is descended from ALEXANDER de BEDICK, a Norman noble who had been granted lands in Waslington, Durham. His son, James, took the surname SAUNDERSON (from "Alexander's Son").