ANDRIES

The surname Andries is ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek personal name Andreas, which denotes “man” or “manly” and is synonymous with courage and strength in Greek culture. The Greek word andreā itself appears as a first‑name in the earliest Christian texts, most notably as the name of one of Jesus’ apostles. Consequently the name has been venerated in some Christian traditions as far back as the early Middle Ages and has been applied to a wide range of European peoples.

In \textbf{Dutch‑speaking regions}, the name appears most frequently in the form Andries, the Dutch equivalent of the English Andrew. Historically it has been a patronymic surname – that is, an identifier meaning “son of Andrew” – and as such it spread through the Low Countries, in medieval nomenclature that was dominated by the Christian faith rather than by secular occupations or geographical marks.

Records of the surname in England date from the 13th century. The earliest known spelling, Andreu, appears on a charter issued in Buckinghamshire in 1237, while a later 16th‑century document cites a William Andreu of that same county. Earlier references are found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where a monk was recorded simply as Andreas, but that was a given name, not a hereditary surname. The surname itself should not be confused with the earlier instances of the personal name.

The Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries facilitated the spread of the name throughout Europe. Returning soldiers, in admiration of the saintly heroes with whom they had fought, began to name their children after patron saints, including St Andrew, patron of Scotland and Russia. In Scotland the story that the remains of St Andrew were brought to Edinburgh in 900 AD, underlines the saint’s importance in that country and contributed to the popularity of the name in the northern half of the island. Likewise, the name appears frequently among early settlers in the New World; an Anthony Andrew is recorded in the first Virginia lists of 1623, and in America the surname was often anglicised to Andrews in some early documents.

In the modern era the surname remains most common in Belgium and the Netherlands, though it is also found in Germany, France, and the United States, where Dutch and Flemish immigrants carried it abroad. The name has many variants due to linguistic differences and clerical transcription: Andriesz, Andriesse, Andriessen, Andrews, Andreissen, Andriese, Andriets, Andreis, Andrian, Andresen, Andreou, Andre, Andreas, Andrea, Andreu, Andrus, and Andriev. In some places an additional suffix denotes “son of”, producing surnames such as Andreassen or Andreasen in the Nordic countries. Thus the modern surname is richly diversified while nonetheless retaining its original patronymic meaning.

Other surnames sharing the same Greek origin are evident across Europe and the world: Anderson, Andersson, Andreson, Eduardo, and D'Andrea all derive from the root of Andreas, making them cognates of Andries. The evolution of the name reflects the deep intermixing of cultural, religious and linguistic developments that have shaped European onomastics for centuries.

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Andries in...

Braille

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Morse

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Semaphore

Famous people named Andries

• Dennis Andries - Guyanese Boxer

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

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