Romanian-style variant of Andrea, from Greek andreios meaning manly or brave.
Andreea is the Romanian feminine form of Andrew, a name whose ancestry reaches back to the ancient Greek *Andreas*, derived from *anēr* (genitive *andros*), meaning "man" in the sense of courage and full human personhood. The name was carried into early Christianity through Saint Andrew the Apostle, one of the first disciples called by Jesus and, according to tradition, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew became the patron saint of multiple nations — Scotland, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania among them — making the name one of the most widely distributed in the Christian world.
In Romania, Andrew (*Andrei* for men, *Andreea* for women) holds special significance: Saint Andrew is venerated as the "Apostle of Romania," credited with bringing Christianity to the Dacian and Roman populations of the region in the first century CE. This gives the name a particular national and spiritual resonance in Romanian culture. The feast of Saint Andrew on November 30th is a major celebration in Romania, associated with folk traditions, winter solstice customs, and the protection of communities from darkness — so a child named Andreea inherits not just a name but a calendrical place in the culture.
Andreea's doubled *e* is distinctive to Romanian orthography and gives the name a visual elegance that sets it apart from the Italian *Andrea* or the Spanish *Andreína*. Romanian has contributed the name to global circulation through emigration, and Andreea has appeared in international sports, music, and fashion. It carries all the apostolic gravitas of the original while wearing the specific warmth of Romanian cultural identity.