Origin of The Name
It derives from the Greek ανήρ (anēr), genitive ανδρός (andrós), that indicates the man as opposed to the woman (while man in the meaning of human being is άνθρωπος, ánthropos, ανθρώπου, anthrópou). The original Greek name, Andréas, represents the hypocoristic, with endearment functions, of male Greek names composed with the andr- prefix, like Androgeos, Androcles, Andronikos. The same root ανδρ-, andr- denoting the male gender is found e.g. in misandry (the hatred of the male sex), andrology (male physiology), androgens (male hormones) and polyandry (the practice of taking more than one husband at the same time).
In the year 2006, it was the third most popular name in Italy with 3.1% of newborns. It is one of the Italian male names ending in a, with others being Elia (Elias), Enea (Aeneas), Luca (Lucas), Mattia (Matthias), Nicola (Nicholas), Tobia (Tobias). Outside of Italy, the name is generally considered a female name.
It is traditionally popular because, according to the Christian Bible, Saint Andrew was one of the earliest disciples of Jesus and one of the twelve Apostles.
Read more about this topic: Andrea
Famous quotes containing the words origin of the, the name, origin of and/or origin:
“In the woods in a winter afternoon one will see as readily the origin of the stained glass window, with which Gothic cathedrals are adorned, in the colors of the western sky seen through the bare and crossing branches of the forest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There is the name and the thing; the name is a sound which sets a mark on and denotes the thing. The name is no part of the thing nor of the substance; it is an extraneous piece added to the thing, and outside of it.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed,—a, to me, equally mysterious origin for it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)