The use of the word "Andriana" to denote nobility occurs among numerous Malagasy ethnic groups including the Zafiraminia, the Merina, the Betsileo, the Betsimisaraka, the Tsimihety, the Bezanozano, the Antambahoaka and the Antemoro.
Antemoro are also credited with introducing the written word to Madagascar using the Arabic alphabet to transcribe the language in a script called sorabe.