Andreas is the continental cousin of Andrew, the form that stayed closest to the Greek original while English speakers reshaped theirs. It sounds at home in Athens, in Berlin, and on an American class list, and it reads as traditional without sounding worn out.
The history behind it runs deep. The name belongs to the first disciple Jesus called, to the anatomist whose 1543 book corrected more than 200 errors in the anatomy taught in his day, and to a long line of European footballers, politicians, and musicians. Parents get that weight plus easy nicknames and a spelling almost everyone can read on sight.
Verdict: Andreas is a strong pick for a baby born in 2026 if you want a familiar name that is rarely heard on the playground. It ends in the soft -s sound parents are drawn to right now, and only 154 US boys received it in 2025, so your son will most likely be the only one in his class.
Andreas Overview
- Meaning: Andreas comes from the Greek word for man and carries the sense of manly, brave, and strong.
- Gender: Andreas is a boys’ name; the feminine forms parents reach for instead are Andrea and Andriana.
- Origin: Ancient Greek, and the New Testament form of the name Andrew.
- Pronunciation: ahn-DRAY-us in the US, and ahn-DREH-ahs in German and Greek.
- Popularity: 1,276th for US boys in 2025, with 154 births that year; half of everyone ever recorded with the name was born after 2000.
- Nicknames: Andy, Andi, Dre, Andre, Rees, Ace, Dreas
- Variations: Anders, András, André, Andrei, Andrés, Andrew, Andries, Andrija, Antti, Ondřej, Ondrej
- Namesakes: Andreas Vesalius (anatomist); Andreas Papandreou (Greek prime minister); Andreas Brehme (German footballer)
What Does Andreas Mean?
Andreas means manly, brave, and strong. It is built on the Ancient Greek anēr (genitive andros), the word for man, by way of the adjective andreios, manly.
In classical usage that adjective carried a duty as much as a description: courage, steadiness, and responsibility for a household and a city. The English form Andrew grew from the same root, but Andreas keeps the Greek ending and the shorter path back to it. The biblical Andreas, a fisherman from Bethsaida and the brother of Simon Peter, adds a second layer of meaning, since he is remembered as the first disciple Jesus called (1).
Where Does the Name Andreas Come From?
Andreas comes from Ancient Greece, and it is the original New Testament spelling of the name English speakers know as Andrew. Greek families used it long before the Gospels were written, and the church then carried it across Europe.
That apostle is the reason it traveled so far. He was crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross, and he became patron saint of Scotland, Greece, and Russia, with a feast day on November 30 (2). Wherever the veneration went, the name followed, which is why Andreas stayed standard in Greece, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands even after English speakers settled on Andrew.
How Popular is the Name Andreas?
Andreas ranked 1,276th for American boys in 2025, when 154 of them were given the name, so it sits just outside the top 1,000 that most people recognize (3). Federal birth records have listed it in 96 separate years since 1913, for a total of 8,630 boys.
The rank alone undersells it. The highest count in the whole record came in 2024, when 195 boys were named Andreas, and use has held steady rather than slipping. A modest rank next to a record count simply means today’s parents spread their choices across far more names than they did in 1966, the year Andreas reached its best rank of 734th.
Half of everyone ever recorded with the name was born after 2000, so it reads as a current name rather than a revival of a great-grandfather’s. For a parent, the practical upshot is a name people can spell on the first try that only about one boy in 11,000 is actually carrying.
How Do I Pronounce Andreas?
Say it ahn-DRAY-us, with the stress on the middle syllable. Ahn rhymes with on, dray rhymes with play, and us is short, as in bus.
The version you hear shifts with the country:
- German and Greek: ahn-DREH-ahs, with a shorter e in the middle.
- Anglicized: an-DREE-us, which turns up occasionally and usually gets corrected.
Three syllables, no silent letters, and no spelling trap. Teachers and coaches get it right after hearing it once, which is not true of every imported name.
Is Andreas a Boy or Girl Name?
Andreas is a boys’ name, in the US and across the European countries that use it. Federal records do hold 49 girls given the name since counting began, five of them in 2005 and none since, which works out to about half a percent of everyone on record, so it is a boys’ name with a rounding error rather than a shared one.
The feminine forms parents actually use are Andrea and Andriana. Italy is the exception worth knowing about: there, Andrea is a boys’ name and the standard local form of Andrew, which regularly surprises Americans who meet an Italian man introducing himself as Andrea.
What Are the Variations of Andreas?
Anders, András, André, Andrei, and Andrés are the everyday European forms of Andreas. Almost every European language kept a version of it, because the apostle’s name arrived with the church rather than with a single migration:
- Anders (Scandinavian)
- András (Hungarian)
- André (French/Portuguese)
- Andrei (Russian/Romanian)
- Andrés (Spanish)
- Andrew (English)
- Andries (Dutch)
- Andrija (Slavic)
- Antti (Finnish)
- Ondřej (Czech)
- Ondrej (Slovak)
Any of these doubles as a natural nickname for relatives abroad, which is part of why the name survives so well in mixed families.
What Are the Nicknames for Andreas?
Andy, Andi, Dre, and Andre are the short forms families land on first. Andreas is long enough to shorten several ways, so a boy can pick a different one at seven and at seventeen.
Common Nicknames:
- Andy/Andi: the friendly, classic go-to.
- Dre: a cool, one-syllable option.
- Andre: the first two syllables, used as a standalone name in its own right.
Creative & Rare Nicknames:
- Rees: pulled from the back half of the name, and it sounds like the Welsh name Rhys.
- Ace: a playful stretch from the first and last sounds (Andreas).
- Dreas: a punchy shortening that rhymes with case.
What Names Are Similar to Andreas?
Elias, Matthias, and Lucas are the nearest matches, since they share the soft -as or -ias ending that gives Andreas its shape. The rest of this list keeps either the Greek roots or the three-syllable rhythm.
- Elias: a Greek biblical name ending in s, with the same balance of old and current.
- Matthias: another New Testament name that kept its Greek ending in English.
- Julian: shares the gentle strength and the multi-syllable rhythm.
- Leander: a rarer Greek name meaning lion man.
- Lucas: the same -as ending in a shorter, blunter package.
- Adrian: very close in sound, with the central consonants shifted.
- Sebastian: a longer, more lyrical name with the same continental feel.
- Nikolas: the Greek classic that pairs neatly with Andreas in style.
Which Names Moved With Andreas?
Angelo, Jack, and Hugo have risen and fallen on nearly the same schedule as Andreas over the past 45 years, and those three are the ones drawn on the chart below. This is our reading of public birth data, so treat it as evidence that parents weighing Andreas tend to weigh these too, not as an official list.
- Andreas
- Angelo
- Jack
- Hugo
- Angelo: already 146th in 1914, at the very start of the comparable record, and still steady at 304th in 2025.
- Jack: the same curve at a much larger scale, with a best rank of 11th in 2021 and 15th place in 2025.
- Hugo: the one still rising, 378th in 2025, with its best rank of 363rd set back in 1914.
Three more names track the same pattern without being plotted above: Nicolas (best rank 132nd in 1998, 177th in 2025), Andres (152nd in 1993, 200th in 2025), and Josue (181st in 2007 and easing to 330th by 2025). If Andreas appeals to you, that group is where the next candidate usually comes from.
Middle Names for Andreas
Andreas is a three-syllable name with a soft ending, so it pairs best with sturdy one-syllable middles or with classic anchors that match its age.
Short & Strong
These balance the length of Andreas with a punchy finish.
Classic & Royal
These lean into the age of the name and suit a family with a naming tradition to honor.
Modern & Continental
These keep the European sound running through both names.
Sibling Names for Andreas
A sibling set around Andreas works best when the other names are equally established and travel just as easily across languages.
For a Brother
- Stefan: the European spelling of a biblical classic, the same move Andreas makes.
- Marcus: Latin roots that stand up well beside Greek ones.
- Dominic: similar rhythm and the same international reach.
- Lukas: the K spelling ties it to the German usage of Andreas.
- Tobias: matches the ending sound while keeping a different first initial.
For a Sister
- Helena: a Greek name that is a direct stylistic match.
- Sofia: recognized everywhere in Europe and just as easy to say.
- Petra: the feminine form of Peter, which pairs neatly with the apostle link.
- Clara: simple, bright, and from the same era of revivals.
- Natalia: a melodic name that flows well after Andreas.
Famous People Named Andreas
- Andreas Vesalius: the 16th-century anatomist whose De humani corporis fabrica appeared in 1543 and corrected more than 200 errors in the anatomy taught since Galen, which is why he is called the founder of modern human anatomy.
- Andreas Papandreou: the Greek economist and politician who served as prime minister of Greece.
- Andreas Brehme: the German footballer who scored the winning goal in the 1990 World Cup Final.
- Andreas Vollenweider: the Swiss harpist and musician whose work found a worldwide audience.
- Andreas Christensen: the Danish professional footballer who plays for Barcelona and the Denmark national team.
Andreas in Pop Culture
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: one of the best-known video games ever made, set in a fictional state based on California.
- Andreas Darlton: a character in the anime series Code Geass.
- Andreas von Strucker: a Marvel Comics villain associated with Hydra.
- San Andreas Fault: not a character, but the California fault line that makes the name instantly familiar to Americans.
