Andrew’ has been one of the most enduringly popular English names for centuries. Doesn’t everyone know an Andrew’? But what makes this name tick? Where’d it come from? Read on, intrepid name explorers, and the truth will be illuminated.

Etymology
Andrew’ has a fun etymology. It is the English version of the Greek Andreas,’ which more than likely came from aner,’ meaning “man.” The derivation made a quick stop at andros,’ which means “of a man,” before it showed up in the English translation of the Bible as Andrew’. So what does Andrew’ mean? “Of a man.”

Origin and History
Now that we know that Andrew’ means “of a man” and came from Greek, we can quickly piece together how this name came into such popularity in English.

The Bible tells us that Andrew, who is the brother of Simon Peter, was Jesus Christ’s first disciple. In fact, Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and Russia and, along with Peter, was used as a name for countless cathedrals around the world. Thus, since the time that Jesus lived, every English speaking Christian nation has used the name Andrew. So we can see that the English form of Andrew’ has always been associated with the Christian tradition.

Popularity
Given that the Christian world, for many years, based much of its name-choosing practices on the Bible, the enduring popularity of Andrew’ is easily understood.

Andrew’ has always enjoyed great popularity, and since the late 1800’s this name has pretty much always been in the top 50. In fact, it only dipped lower than the top fifty during the 1930’s and 1940’s. The cause of this dip? Hard to say. But this was the era of the Great Depression and, later, World War II. But while it would seem that people would turn to religious names during trying times, such was not the case with Andrew’.

Andrew’ reached #5, its peak, in 2003, on the list of popular boys’ names, and it has stayed in the top ten since the late 1990’s. This latest surge of the name Andrew coincides with a trend in which parents have been returning to what are often termed classical names.’ These names include Jacob, Michael and Joshua, all of which are directly from the Bible.

Fascinating Facts
The first fascinating fact about Andrew’ can be seen when we take another look at its root andros.’ Think of a word with this root in it did you think of android?’ This means that not only does android’ sound like a neat, sci-fi name, it is also a scientifically perfect word for a creation that is supposed to approximate man.

Androgynous’ is also a place where we find the root of Andrew’. Many folks think of Saturday Night Live skits about an androgynous character named Pat when they hear this word. But if you break this word down, you get andros’ (of man) and gyn’ (birth or origin). So should this word refer to a person whose gender is unclear, or should it really mean born of a man’?

Namesakes
There are several namesakes, non-human, of Andrew’. Probably the most common place that has the name Andrew is cathedrals. If you Google St. Andrew Cathedral,’ you will see myriad cathedrals around the world with this name. From Honolulu to Singapore, from Sydney to Philadelphia, cathedrals with this name are everywhere.

Famous Andrews
It’s not difficult to think of a famous Andrew, is it? Why, the U.S.A had its own King Andrew’! That’s right, some people felt like President Andrew Jackson wielded his presidential power with far too heavy a hand.

Then there’s Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful writers of musical drama ever. We also have Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate who was once just about the richest man in America and is easily at the top of the list when it comes to American philanthropists.

Name Variants
Andrew’ is a name that is hard to misspell. Would you believe Androo? Anyway, we are hard put to find any English language variant of it, which is not uncommon for names that have endured through the ages.

However, let’s not overlook the fact that Andrew’ has been popular in other languages and cultures for centuries. Some of the variants that can be seen through the years are: Anders, which is Scandinavian; Andrei, which is Russian and Ukrainian; Andrzej, which is Polish; and Andor, which is Hungarian. In fact, Andor was a king of Hungary.

Finally, the two most common nicknames for Andrew’ are Andy and Drew. But watch out! Not all Andy’s are Andrews! Andy is also used as a nickname for Anthony sometimes.

References:
www.babynamewizard.com