She’s Such an Andrea

When I was a kid I was into finding out more about myself.

Okay, I am an adult and I am into finding out more about myself.

This is just the type of person I am.  Some may call me introspective.  Others may say that I’m deep.  Maybe even a navel-gazer.  Self-absorbed.  Egocentric?

Yes.  I will claim all of these.

Anyway, in the past I consumed information about zodiac signs, and I was amazed at how accurate the descriptions fit me.  When I had a dream I’d pore over dream analysis books and try to guess what my brain was telling me while I slept.

So of course I know what my name means.

Traditionally, Andrea means womanly, the feminine counterpart of Andrew, which means manly.  It’s probably the most boring meaning of a name ever in the history of name meanings.  And when you’re a kid and you are looking up the meaning of your name and it says “Womanly,” you wish your name meant charming (Bonnie) or beautiful (Jackie) or beloved (Holly).  Womanly is boobs and hips and having your period and wearing mom jeans and being old (Andrea).

Andrea can also mean brave, which is cool I guess, but not how I would describe myself.  I can support being thought of as brave, but as I eschew the outdoors mostly because there are WILD ANIMALS AND PEOPLE out there, no one’s naming a movie after me.

In my quest for meaning, I turned to my favorite research spot and yours, the internet.  And on the internet I found some interesting meanings for my name that I can really get behind.

From Urban Dictionary, which not only provides definitions, but also examples for usage:

Andrea comes from the Latin meaning "Womanly" or "Beautiful Lady". She is steadfast and confident,honest and reliable.A tower of strenth (sic) for thoughs (sic) she cares for and a rock to the family.

That girl is quite the andrea. 

Oh, my grammar and spelling.

Short and sweet:

the sexiest person on the planet. funny, smart, and just amazing. everyone needs a piece of andrea.

hey did you see andrea? 
omg yeah she is so hot!!!

Yeah, I get that a lot.

And here:

1. a sound out girl 
2. has a worrying appreciation of queen 
3. the best person ever 
4. someone who is attractive and nice 
5. very feminine and has a vagina and is straight and not manly at all!

oh wow she is such an andrea.

I like Queen for sure.  But I’m not sure that anyone should worry about it.  And I think #5 is just another way of saying “womanly.”

Meaning "princess"-often leo's (sic) or cancers. Very athletic and amazingly hot.And almost everyone has bown (sic) hair.

guy#1:wow that girl was hot and a good kisser 
guy#2:do you know her name? 
guy#1: no but most likely it was andrea 
guy#2: true dat

I like the way that this author added the qualifier “amazingly” before hot.  Where is this person?  I’d like to send him a thank you card.

So evidently Andrea means hot, smart, good kisser, confident, nice… and womanly.  I guess I shouldn’t complain that my name means something boring.  After all, I’ve always liked it, and now that I know I share it with so many other amazing women, I like it even better.

It definitely is more palatable than Kuwanyamtiwa, which means badger going over the hill. 

Then again, true dat.

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This post inspired by:

Mama Kat's Writing Workshop

Prompt #5: The meaning of your name... does it suit you?