From Greek aner or andros, meaning manly or of a man; also the name of a Greek island.
Andros derives from the ancient Greek andros, the genitive form of anēr, meaning "man" — not merely in the sense of male, but in the fuller classical sense of a person of courage, honor, and moral strength. It shares its root with a constellation of names that shaped Western civilization: Alexander ("defender of men"), Andrew ("manly, brave"), and Andreas.
The name appears in Greek mythology and geography alike — Andros is also the name of the northernmost island of the Cyclades, believed in antiquity to have been named for Andros, son of Eurymachus or, in some tellings, a companion of the god Dionysus. The island of Andros has its own storied history, serving as a prosperous naval power in the Aegean, a Venetian holding, and eventually part of the modern Greek state — giving the name a layered geographic and historical resonance beyond its linguistic meaning. In Roman adaptation, the name fed into Latin literary culture through Terence's comedy Andria, "The Woman of Andros," which was itself adapted from the Greek playwright Menander and later reimagined by Thornton Wilder in the twentieth century.
As a given name, Andros occupies a distinctive niche: rarer and more archaic-feeling than Andrew or Andreas, it appeals to parents drawn to classical antiquity or Greek heritage who want something less commonly encountered. It carries the authority of its root meaning while sounding both ancient and surprisingly modern — a short, strong name with deep Mediterranean resonance that has seen quiet revival in English-speaking countries alongside the broader trend of Greek and Greco-Roman classical names.