Drue is a spelling of Drew, the short form of Andrew, which comes from the Greek andreios and means "manly" or "brave"; for a girl the meaning is best taken as plain courage. Actress Drew Barrymore made the boyish nickname a girls' option, and the -ue spelling softens it. Drue ranked number 5542 in 2000 for girls, hovered far down the list for years and has climbed quickly since 2020 to number 2551 in 2025, its best rank to date.