Where the Henderson name comes from

Henderson is a Scottish patronymic, built from Hendry, which is the Scottish form of Henry. It says exactly what it means: son of Hendry, son of Henry. Scottish Gaelic renders the same name MacEanraig for a man and NicEanraig for a woman.

One meaning, many separate roots: numerous unrelated families in Scotland carry the surname. The Hendersons of Fordell in Fife were the chief Lowland family of the name, Clan Henderson. The Hendersons of Glencoe, a sept of Clan Donald, take their surname from the Gaelic MacEanruig instead. England had no record of the name before the 17th century, and the first mention there is a marriage document drawn up at Hexham between one of the Borders Hendersons and the daughter of a Carlisle merchant.