Andrée

Andrée is a feminine given name used in French-speaking contexts and in other languages. It is the feminine form of André, which derives from the Greek Andreas, meaning “manly” or “brave.” The accent on the final e reflects French spelling, though variations such as Andree appear in other languages. The name has been borne by writers, artists, and public figures across the 19th and 20th centuries.

Notable people with the name include Andrée Chedid (1925–2011), a Lebanese-French poet and novelist; Andrée de Jongh (1917–2003), a Belgian resistance heroine who organized the Comète escape line to help Allied airmen escape from occupied Europe; and Salomon August Andrée (1854–1897), a Swedish physicist and balloonist who led the ill-fated Arctic balloon expedition of 1897, known as the Andrée expedition.

The Andrée expedition began with the airship Örnen and ended in tragedy when the crew perished on the Arctic ice. The voyage is remembered as one of the most famous early attempts to reach the North Pole by balloon, and the diaries and notes kept by Andrée and his companions became the principal historical records of the journey, later published and studied for insights into polar exploration and perilous exploration narratives.