Andreas is the Greek form of Andrew — from the Greek andreios meaning "manly" or "courageous," derived from aner (man) — and serves as the version of the name used across Greece, Germany, Scandinavia, and much of continental Europe. With 8,472 SSA records and a 2006 peak, Andreas is Andrew with a European passport and a classical Greek pedigree.
Andrew at the Source
Andrew (Andreas) was one of Jesus's twelve apostles — the first called, according to the Gospel of John — and became the patron saint of Scotland, Greece, Russia, and Romania. The Greek form Andreas preserves the original apostolic name before it was anglicized. Saint Andrew is venerated across the Orthodox Christian world under the Andreas form, making this the name's dominant usage in Eastern European, Greek, and Germanic Christian traditions. Greek origin names that preserved their original form while English developed its own variant carry this specific classical distinction.
European Sophistication Without Opacity
Andreas is immediately pronounceable for American English speakers , ahn-DRAY-us , without requiring any cultural translation. It reads as European, educated, and slightly formal without being inaccessible. The three-syllable flow is confident. And unlike many European variants of English names, Andreas doesn't sacrifice recognizability: anyone who knows Andrew knows Andreas. That combination , familiar meaning, continental form, clear pronunciation , is rare and valuable in cross-cultural naming. Seven-letter names with this quality tend to carry well across both formal and casual contexts.
Counter-Reading: Neither Here Nor There
Andreas sits in an awkward middle space: it's not quite Andrew (the mainstream English choice) and not quite Andrei or Andros (the fully committed regional variants). American children named Andreas may find themselves explaining whether it's "like Andrew" regularly. For families with Greek, German, or Scandinavian heritage, that explanation is natural and grounding. For families choosing it purely for aesthetic reasons, Andrew offers identical meaning with full cultural legibility, while Andrei or Andrés offer more committed regional specificity.