Andy

Meaning and origin

Andy is an English familiar form of Andrew and, less often, Andrea. It belongs to a Greek name family meaning “manly” or “masculine.” Its short, informal shape has also become well established as a given name in its own right.

Andrew comes from Greek Andreas, based on andreios, a word derived from aner, meaning “man.” Andrea belongs to the same family, giving Andy a route into feminine as well as masculine use in English.

The broader name’s Christian history reaches back to the apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Forms of Andrew spread across many European languages, producing relatives such as French André, German Andreas, Spanish Andrés, and Italian Andrea.

Andy keeps the opening sound of the longer English name while replacing its final syllable with an ee ending. That makes its relationship with Andrew easy to hear without requiring the full name in everyday use.

Pronunciation and related forms

Andy is pronounced AN-dee, with two syllables and the stress on the first. The final y has a clear ee sound, and the d remains part of the name’s familiar spoken shape.

Andi and Andie are related spellings. Drew is another established short form of Andrew, taken from the end rather than the beginning. Andrea offers the corresponding longer feminine form in English naming.

These alternatives show two different ways of shortening the same family: Andy emphasizes its opening, while Drew preserves the closing sound. Andy’s two syllables also distinguish it from one-syllable Drew.

Andy Warhol and modern art

Artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol is one of the name’s most recognizable bearers. His Campbell’s Soup Cans of 1962 made everyday commercial packaging part of a major work of modern art.

The work consists of thirty-two canvases, matching the number of soup varieties Campbell’s sold at the time. In their first exhibition, the individual paintings were both hung on the wall and supported on shelves, creating a connection between a gallery display and groceries in a shop.

Warhol’s work extended beyond painting. His Screen Tests, made between 1964 and 1966, consist of hundreds of filmed portraits of people visiting his studio, the Factory. The films offered a different kind of portrait from a conventional painted image, using the camera to hold attention on a person over time.

These works give Andy a substantial cultural connection with Pop art, film, and the artistic life surrounding Warhol’s studio.

Popularity in the United States

Andy’s best American rank for boys was number 193 in 1881. Its largest annual count came in 2005, with 1,936 births. It ranked number 565 in 2025.

Girls have also received the name, with their largest annual count, 42 births, coming in 2019. Both patterns reflect Andy’s use beyond its original role as a familiar form.

How popular is Andy?

In 2025, Andy ranked #565 among boys in the United States, with 524 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1880; its largest annual count was 1,936 in 2005. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.