| Andrew | Nicholas | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Manly, brave | Victory of the people |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | AN-droo | NIK-uh-lus |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1987 (36,206) | 1995 (29,160) |
| In 2025 | 4,497 | 3,115 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Andrew | Nicholas |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 30,959 | 20,988 |
| 2010s | 105,086 | 66,811 |
| 2000s | 202,588 | 177,609 |
| 1990s | 272,941 | 275,329 |
| 1980s | 285,074 | 223,308 |
| 1970s | 132,929 | 65,068 |
| 1960s | 97,109 | 22,339 |
| 1950s | 60,972 | 22,614 |
| 1940s | 34,618 | 15,503 |
| 1930s | 25,025 | 9,716 |
| 1920s | 35,952 | 13,608 |
| 1910s | 28,152 | 10,233 |
| 1900s | 6,277 | 1,334 |
| 1890s | 5,719 | 857 |
| 1880s | 6,053 | 730 |
Andrew comes from the Greek Andreas, “manly, brave,” from anēr, “man.” Andrew was the first-called of the apostles and is the patron saint of Scotland.
Nicholas comes from the Greek for “victory of the people.” St Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop famed for secret gift-giving, became the model for Santa Claus.
Andrew is more popular than Nicholas today: about 4,497 US babies were given the name Andrew in 2025, compared with 3,115 named Nicholas.
Andrew means Manly, brave (Greek origin), while Nicholas means Victory of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Andrew first appears in 1880 and Nicholas in 1880, so Andrew has the longer recorded history.