Andy
Masculine · “man”
Andy is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 94,185 boys against 1,307 girls since 1880. See Andy as a girl name
Andy is the short form of Andrew, and Andrew reaches English from the Greek Andreas — one of the oldest continuously used names in Europe, carried by the apostle who became the patron saint of Scotland. It has been clipped this way for centuries, and the clipped version has been standing on its own on American birth certificates since the earliest years of federal record-keeping. Two syllables, both open and easy: it lands the same way in every accent that tries it.
How old is the name Andy?
Andy was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Andy alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 78,000 people named Andy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Andy most popular?
Andy peaked in 1881, reaching #193 nationally. Today it ranks #565, 372 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Andreas to Andy
The story of Andy
The Greek Andreas belonged to a fisherman from Galilee who became one of the twelve apostles, and Christian devotion carried the name across the Mediterranean, into Latin, and then into every language of Europe. English settled on Andrew; Scotland took Saint Andrew as its patron, which is why his diagonal cross sits on the Scottish flag. Andy appeared as the familiar spoken form and, as happened with Harry and Ned, eventually began to be written down as a name in its own right. It also does duty as a short form of Andrea and of surnames like Anderson, so the same four letters arrive from more than one direction.
Meaning
man, manly
Through Andrew, from Greek Andreas, built on the stem andr- meaning "man" — the same root behind words like polyandry.
How the name formed
- Andreas
- Andrew
- Andy
Related forms: Andi · Andrés · André · Andrea · Andrei · Anndra
Pronouncing Andy
AN-dee
Two syllables, stress on the first. No regional variation worth worrying about, and it survives every accent intact.
Nicknames for Andy
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 20071,832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #193reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −23.9%524 in 2025, from 689
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Andy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Andi in German — spelling variant
- Andrés in Spanish — related form
- André in French — related form
- Andrea in Italian — related form
- Andrei in Russian — related form
- Anndra in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Andys among us
people named Andy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,260 born in 2025 was named Andy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Andy sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Andy is headed
Andy should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Andy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Andy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Needs no explaining and no spelling out loud — almost every English speaker has met it, and it is written the way it sounds.
- Comes with a full-length formal option already attached: Andrew is there if a longer version is ever wanted for a résumé or a diploma.
- The Andrew family exists in nearly every European language, so relatives abroad will have a form of their own to use.
- Familiar without being crowded — a child is unlikely to share it with anyone else in the classroom.
- Still strongly represented among adults in their thirties and forties, which keeps it in everyday circulation rather than in the archives.
- It reads as a nickname to many people, so expect the occasional "is that short for Andrew?" If you would rather have the long form on official paperwork, it is worth deciding that before the birth certificate.
- The rhymes are obvious and well worn — candy, handy — and children find them fast. They are affectionate more often than not, but they do arrive.
- Because Andy also shortens Andrea, it turns up on women as well as men, more often spelled Andi. In US records the name is overwhelmingly given to boys, so an occasional wrong assumption on a form is the realistic cost.
- Its high point is behind it, which means a child named Andy will more often meet adults with the name than peers — pleasant enough company, but not a name of the moment.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Andy to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Andy
Masculine · #565 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Andys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 78,000 people named Andy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Andy in 2025?
- Andy ranks #565 among US boy names in 2025, with 524 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Andy?
- About 1 in every 3,260 US boys born in 2025 was named Andy — 524 in all.
- Will my child share the name Andy with classmates?
- Andy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Andy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Garrett#564 · Colsen#566 · Zakai#563 · Zain#567 · Rocky#568 · Mohammad#561 · Deacon#561 · Roberto#569
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Andy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Andy and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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