Andrea

For the most part, Andrea is considered the female equivalent of Andrew; however, it also happens to be the Italian masculine form of Andreas (which is the Biblical Greek form of Andrew). Andreas (Ανδρεας) basically means “manly”, derived from the Greek “aner” (ἀνήρ) which is the possessive of “anthrōpos” (man). As a masculine given name, Andrew’s long endurance is owed to a 1st century Disciple of Christ, St. Andrew. In fact, along with his brother Simon-Peter, Andrew was one of the first disciples called by Jesus in the New Testament. In essence, Andrew was an “early-adopter” of Christ’s message and is often referred to as “First Called”. A “manly” Galilean fisherman by trade, St. Andrew was initially a disciple of John the Baptist and one of the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. After the Resurrection, St. Andrew went on to preach in Asia Minor and Greece. He became one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages and was chosen to be the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Scotland. The saint’s Feast Day is November 30 (for more information on St. Andrew, see historical references below). The English borrowed Andrew from the Old French “Andreu” (now André) sometime around the 11th century. The female equivalent (i.e., Andrea) did not appear until the 17th century. Today Andrea is a super popular boy’s name in Italy. As a female given name, Andrea does well in Spain, Catalonia, Croatia, Norway, the United States and France.