Audrey


title: "Audrey" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["given-names", "feminine-given-names", "english-feminine-given-names", "french-feminine-given-names"] topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox name"]

FieldValue
nameAudrey
imageSt-aethelthryth.jpg
captionSt. Audrey, from the 10th-century Benedictional of St Æthelwold
pronunciation
genderFemale, rarely male
languageEnglish
languageoriginOld English
originÆðelþryð
derivationæðel + þryð
meaning"noble strength"
related namesEtheldreda, Ethel, Audie, Audra, Audre, Audrea, Edeltraud
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| name = Audrey | image = St-aethelthryth.jpg | caption = St. Audrey, from the 10th-century Benedictional of St Æthelwold | pronunciation = | gender = Female, rarely male | language = English | languageorigin = Old English | origin = Æðelþryð | derivation = æðel + þryð | meaning = "noble strength" | related names = Etheldreda, Ethel, Audie, Audra, Audre, Audrea, Edeltraud

Audrey is a feminine given name. It is rarely a masculine given name. Audrey is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name Æðelþryð, composed of the elements æðel "noble" and þryð "strength". The literal definition of the word is “noble strength” or “strength from nobility”. The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Audrey (died 679), also known by the historical form of her name as Saint Æthelthryth. The same name also survived into the modern period in its Anglo-Saxon form, as Etheldred, e.g. Etheldred Benett (1776–1845) and Etheldred Browning (1869-1946).

In the 17th century, the name of Saint Audrey gave rise to the adjective tawdry "cheap and pretentious; cheaply adorned". The lace necklaces sold to pilgrims to Saint Audrey fell out of fashion in the 17th century, and so tawdry was reinterpreted as meaning cheap or vulgar. As a consequence, use of the name declined, but it was revived in the 19th century. Popularity of the name in the United States peaked in the interbellum period, but it fell below rank 100 in popularity by 1940 and was not frequently given in the latter half of the 20th century; Audrey was the 173rd most common name for females in the United States in the 1990 census. Its popularity has again been on the rise since the 2000s, reaching rank 100 in 2002 and rank 41 in 2012. It was also ranked in the top 100 most common names for girls in France, Belgium, and Canada in the 2000s.

People

Fictional characters

Notes

References

  1. (2006). "A Dictionary of First Names". [[Oxford University Press]].
  2. [http://www.behindthename.com/name/ae32th30elth31ryth30 ÆÐELÞRYÐ], Behind the Name
  3. [http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=audrey Audrey], Behind the Name

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