Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “of man, belonging to man.”
The name is derived from the Greek Ανδρεασ (Andreas), which is derived from the Greek word, ανδροσ (andros), a genitive form of the word, ανηρ (aner), meaning, “man.” Hence, it would rougly translate to mean “belonging to man” or “of man.”
It was popularized by one of the twelve Apostles, who is now considered a popular Christian saint. It is suggested that Andreas was a nickname given to him, or possibly just a direct Greek translation of a Hebrew name that had a similar meaning, now lost to history.
Saint Andrew is considered the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. According to legend, he was martyred around the Black sea on an X shaped cross. His designated name-day is November 30.
The name has remained a staple in the U.S. top 100. As of 2011, he was the 16th most popular male name. His rankings and his various incarnations in other countries are as follows:
- # 1 (Andrei, Romania, 2009)
- # 3 (Andrea, Italy, 2010)
- # 3 (Andrea, Italian-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
- # 6 (Andreas, Estonia, 2011)
- # 8 (Andria, Georgia, 2011)
- # 8 (Andrej, Serbia, 2011)
- # 9 (Andrey, Russia BabyCenter, 2011)
- # 10 (Ondřej, Czech Republic, 2011)
- # 10 (Andre/Andrew/Andrea/Andrei, Malta, 2011)
- # 12 (Andreas, Norway, 2011)
- # 25 (András, Hungary, 2011)
- # 28 (Andreas, Denmark, 2011)
- # 35 (Scotland, 2010)
- # 38 (Canada, BC, 2010)
- # 39 (Andrej, Croatia, 2009)
- # 41 (Andraž, Slovenia, 2010)
- # 46 (Andreas, Austria, 2010)
- # 57 (Andrija, Croatia, 2009)
- # 58 (Ireland, 2010)
- # 61 (Andres, Spain, 2010)
- # 68 (Australia, NSW, 2011)
- # 70 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
- # 92 (Andrej, Slovenia, 2010)
- # 98 (Andro, Croatia, 2009)
- # 98 (Anders, Norway, 2011)
- # 176 (Andres, United States, 2011)
- # 241 (André, United States, 2011)
- # 244 (Andrea, France, 2010)
- # 388 (Andreas, France, 2010)
- # 950 (Anders, United States, 2011)
Other forms are as follows (listed alphabetically by linguistic origin).
- Andrees/Andries (Afrikaans/Old Dutch)
- Andrea (Albanian/Italian)
- Ndreu (Albanian)
- Andreyas (Amharic)
- Andraws/Andraous اندراوس (Arabic/Coptic/Lebanese/Syriac)
- Andreas (Armenian/Czech/Estonian/German/Greek/Hungarian/Slovak/Scandinavian)
- Andresu (Asturian)
- Ander (Basque)
- Anderl (Baverian)
- Andrièu (Bearnais/Occitanian/Provencal)
- Andrivet (Bearnais)
- Andrej Андрэй (Belarusian)
- Andreo/Andrev (Breton)
- Andrei/Andrey Андрей (Bulgarian/Old Church Slavonic/Romanian/Russian/)
- Andrejko (Bulgarian)
- Andreu (Catalan/Aragonese)
- Andria ანდრია (Corsican/Georgian/Sardinian)
- Andrej (Croatian/Czech/Slovak/Slovene)
- Andrija (Croatian/Serbian)
- Andro/Jandre (Croatian)
- Ondřej (Czech)
- Anders (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish)
- Dres/Dreves/Drevs (Danish)
- Andries/Adrees (Dutch)
- Andres (Estonian)
- Ando/Andre/Andro/Andrus/Andu/Andi/Anti (Estonian)
- Andras/Andrias (Faroese)
- Andriou (Fijian)
- Antero/Tero (Finnish)
- Antti (Finnish)
- Andris/Driess (Frisian)
- André (French/Galician/Ladino/Portuguese)
- Dria (Genevoese: Dialectical Italian form)
- Anda (German: dialectical form, Northern Austria)
- Anekelea (Hawaiian)
- Andor/András/Endre (Hungarian)
- Andris (Hungarian/Latvian)
- Andrés (Icelandic/Spanish)
- Aindréas/Aindriú (Irish)
- Andrejs (Latvian)
- Andriejus/Andrius (Lithuanian)
- Andrija/Indri (Maltese)
- Anaru (Maori)
- Dreesi (Old Swiss German: Basel dialect)
- Andrzej/Jędrzej (Polish: latter is a very old form)
- Drewes (Plattdeutsch)
- Andrea/Andreia/Andri/Andrin/Andriu (Romansch)
- Ándá/Ándaras/Ándde/Ánde (Saami)
- Aindrea/Aindreas/Anndra (Scottish)
- Ondrej (Slovak)
- Andraž (Slovene)
- Handrij (Sorbian)
- Andalea (Swahili)
- Andriy Андрiй (Ukrainian)
- Andras (Welsh)
Belorusian diminutives are: Andros, Andruk and Andrus. Czech masculine diminutive forms are Andy, Ondra, Ondrášek, Ondrejko, Ondrík, Ondřejek and Ondříček. French diminutive forms are: Dédé, Ti-Dré, Andi, Déa & Andy. A German diminutive form is Andy/Andi and English are Andi, Andie, Andy, Dre and Drew. A Hungarian diminutive is Bandi and Polish diminutive forms are Andrzejek, Jędrek and Jędruś. Scotch diminutive form is Dand.
Note: Andrea is a common feminine form in most European countries outside of Italy and Albania, particularly in Germany and the Anglo-phone world. Whether this is a borrowing from the Italian and was changed, or a coincidental evolution, is unknown. What is known is that Andrea has been used in England as a feminine form since the 17th-century.
Feminine forms are (listed alphabetically by linguistic origin)
- Andere (Basque)
- Andrea (Basque/Breton/English/German/Spanish)
- Andriva/Andriveta (Bearnais/Occitanian)
- Andersine (Danish)
- Andrine (Danish/Norwegian)
- Drine (Danish)
- Dreesje (Dutch)
- Andrée (French)
- Aanasi/Aanarsi/Aanta/Aantariarsi (Greenlandic)
- Andreina (Italian)
- Andzeja/Ondzeja (Polish: obscure)
- Andréia (Portuguese: Brazilian)
- Andreia (Portuguese: European)
- Andriano (Provencal)
- Andreea (Romanian)
- Andrina (Romansch)
- Andrijana (Serbo-Croatian)
- Andreja (Slovene)
- Andrietta/Andriette (Swedish/Danish: very rare)
Czech diminutive forms are: Adrejka, Andruška, Andra, Rea. English diminutive forms are Andi, Andy, Annie and Drea.
Origin: Greek
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Feminine
Gender: Feminine
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Masculine