Saunders Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Saunders Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Saunders

The origin of the name Saunders was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Saunders is a baptismal name meaning 'son of Alexander' and is a very old personal name. Variants of this name include Saunder, Saunderson, Sanders, Sannders and Sanderson. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Cristiana Sawndir, a Matilda Saunder, and a Johannes Saundirman, who were all recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the year 1379. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. In Ireland this name and its variants were first introduced into Ulster Province by settlers and traders who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century.