Andrei

Andrei is a form of Andrew used in languages including Russian and Romanian. The name family goes back to Greek Andreas, built from the word for a man. Its traditional meaning is therefore “manly” or “masculine,” with strength and courage sometimes added as broader associations rather than literal parts of the name.

The apostle Andrew helped establish this family of names throughout Christian Europe, where different languages developed their own spellings. Andrei keeps a visible connection to that history while ending differently from English Andrew. Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky offers one notable artistic association with this particular spelling. For parents choosing a name across languages, Andrei can preserve the familiar Andrew connection while reflecting a family’s Eastern European linguistic or cultural heritage.