It's rumoured that the character of Andy is named after Andries "Andy" Van Dam, a legendary Brown University computer science and animation professor who had many of the film's makers as students, thoughVan Dam asserts that this isn't true.
The late Oscar-nominated animator Bud Luckey — who played a pivotal role in bringing Woody to life — also had a son named Andy, though it's unclear whether this had any influence on choosing the character's name.
Several books on Andy's bedroom shelf feature previous Pixar shorts titles, such as The Adventures of André and Wally B., Red's Dream, Tin Toy, and Knick Knack.