Drew
Meaning
manly, brave (short form of Andrew); a nod to Charles Drew, physician who pioneered large-scale blood banking and plasma storage
The story
Drew began as the friendly short form of Andrew, a Greek name traditionally read as manly and brave, before earning a birth-certificate life of its own. It carries an honorable association too: Charles Drew, the American surgeon who worked out how to process and preserve blood plasma on a large scale, led the wartime Blood for Britain program, and directed the first American Red Cross blood bank, work that still saves lives every day. As a standalone name, Drew stayed modest through the first half of the twentieth century, gathered speed from the 1950s, then climbed steeply through the 1980s and 1990s, precisely the years Drew Barrymore grew up on screen and made the name feel effortlessly unisex; we cannot prove she powered the climb, but the timing is hard to ignore. It has held near that high-water mark ever since, short, brisk, and modern.
The formal names behind Drew
Drew is an established short form of this name.
Andrew · Greek origin · manly, brave
Drew around the world
One shared root links 9 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Andreas, tied to andros "man, manly"; the apostle's name in a dozen national dresses
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Drew peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
25 people · the #106,978 first name in Brazil · median age 16
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Drew
Most people given the name Drew in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Drew you meet today is most often in their 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Drew deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Drew truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Drew fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Drew · Names of geniuses and inventors · Short names · Gender-neutral names
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