Andrea is a personal name common in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It is the feminine form of Andrew which in turn comes from the Greek word meaning warrior. In Italy, however, Andrea is a masculine name, the equivalent of Andrew.
The name Andrea has acquired an arguably unfair reputation of stereotypically belonging to someone older and more nerdy in recent years and anecdotal evidence points to the popularity of Beverly Hills 90210 and its fictional character of Andrea Zuckerman (played by Gabrielle Carteris), who was indeed a mousey nerdy type, being a major influence on this perception.
Common nicknames for Andrea include Andie, Andi and Drea
Another prominent fictional Andrea (though played by a real Andrea (Andrea Byrne) was in the 1980s children's television programme You Can't Do That on Television, which in its - later banned - "Adoption" episode, parodied the character of Little Orphan Annie as "Little Orphan Andrea".
