Meaning of Last Name

Meaning: "Son of Henry"

Henderson is a common surname of Scottish origin and means "son of Henry". The name is derived from the Scots Gaelic clan MacEanruig of Glencoe which was later anglified to Henderson and McKendrick. Other areas of Scotland where the name made an early appearance were Caithness in the far north of Scotland in the 15th century, where Henry Gunn fell out with other members of the clan Gunn and adopted the name Henderson. Towards the end of the 16th century the name appears around Dumfries in the Scottish borders when the family are accused of being Border Reivers. The name was unknown in England prior to the 17th century and is first mentioned in a marriage document between one of the Borders Hendersons and the daughter of a Carlisle merchant at Hexham.