FastNamesAndrew
Greek name meaning "Derived from Greek Andreas (Ἀνδρέας), meaning 'manly', 'valiant', or 'courageous', from andreios ('manly') and aner ('man').". Ranked 73rd for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Andrew
Derived from Greek Andreas (Ἀνδρέας), meaning 'manly', 'valiant', or 'courageous', from andreios ('manly') and aner ('man').
Linguistically, Andrew is classified under Greek naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "AN-droo".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Andrew has been given to a total of 1,329,454 boys. It has also been given to 4,961 girls.
Peak year: Andrew reached its highest relative share among boys in 1987, when 36,206 babies received the name (19,393 per million births).
All-time best rank: 5th place, first achieved in 1988.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 73rd with 4,497 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 30th (down 43 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Andrew in the 1980s than in any other decade (285,074 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6,053 |
| 1890s | 5,719 |
| 1900s | 6,277 |
| 1910s | 28,152 |
| 1920s | 35,952 |
| 1930s | 25,025 |
| 1940s | 34,618 |
| 1950s | 60,972 |
| 1960s | 97,109 |
| 1970s | 132,929 |
| 1980s | 285,074 |
| 1990s | 272,941 |
| 2000s | 202,588 |
| 2010s | 105,086 |
| 2020s | 30,959 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Andrew is most common in the US
Accounting for when Andrew was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Delaware: 1.4 times the national rate (4,219 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.4 times the national rate (19,578 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.3 times the national rate (5,926 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.3 times the national rate (2,903 births since 1910).
- Pennsylvania: 1.3 times the national rate (80,056 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Andrew?
About 1,132,000 living American boys and men share the name Andrew. Additionally, an estimated 4,200 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Andrew is 35 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Andrew
Andrew stems from the Greek personal name Andreas, an ancient derivative of andreios ('manly', 'courageous', or 'valiant'), itself built upon aner ('man'). In the New Testament, Saint Andrew was a Galilean fisherman, the brother of Simon Peter, and the first disciple called by Jesus. According to early Christian tradition, Andrew preached the Gospel in Greece and Scythia before being crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross (the saltire).
Saint Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, and Greece, ensuring the name's veneration across diverse cultures. In Scotland, the Declaration of Arbroath (1320) affirmed Saint Andrew's special protection, and the saltire flag became Scotland's national emblem. The name Andrew was carried to North America by waves of Scottish and Scotch-Irish settlers, becoming a staple of colonial settlements and producing early American leaders such as President Andrew Jackson.
In American Social Security records, Andrew has been one of the most remarkably resilient masculine names across more than a century. It ranked in the top 100 in the 1880s, maintained steady popularity through the mid-twentieth century, and experienced a major renaissance between 1980 and 2005. It held a place in the national top ten from 1986 to 2007, reaching as high as rank 5 in 2003 with more than 22,000 newborn boys.
Notable people named Andrew
- Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), 7th U.S. President
- Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), Industrialist and philanthropist
- Andrew Johnson (1808–1875), 17th U.S. President
- Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948–), Composer
- Andrew Garfield (1983–), Actor
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 15.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 23.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.