Audrey
AW-dree
The name Audrey is the modern English form of the Old English Æðelþrȳð, a compound of æðel, “noble,” and þrȳð, “strength.” The two elements together signified “noble strength” and were typical of high-status Anglo-Saxon female names.
After the Norman Conquest the cumbersome original form was simplified to Etheldreda in Latin records and to Audrey in vernacular use. The contraction was complete by the late medieval period.
The name owes its survival entirely to Saint Æthelthryth of Ely (c. 636-679), an East Anglian princess who founded the abbey of Ely after twice insisting on remaining a virgin within marriage.
What the name Audrey means
Her cult became one of the most popular in medieval England, and her annual fair at Ely gave English the word “tawdry” - a corruption of “St Audrey’s lace” - originally describing the cheap silk neckerchiefs sold there.
Through her patronage the name remained in circulation across centuries when many other Anglo-Saxon names disappeared.
Shakespeare gave Audrey a literary turn as the goatherd in As You Like It (1599), and the name enjoyed renewed prestige in the twentieth century thanks to Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), the Belgian-born British actress whose roles in Roman Holiday
(1953), Sabrina (1954), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), and My Fair Lady (1964) made her one of the defining icons of mid-century cinema.
Her style and humanitarian work continue to anchor the name’s associations.
Audrey ranked inside the United States Social Security Administration top 100 from 1900 through 1937, peaking at 40th in 1928. It then declined for half a century, bottoming around 200th in the 1970s.
The Hepburn-driven revival took hold in the 1990s and accelerated after 2000, returning the name to the top 100 by 2003. It currently sits within the top 70.
The name is favored across English-speaking countries and in France, where it ranks consistently inside the top 200, often spelled Audrey identically to the English form.
US popularity over time
Numerology and symbolism
Based on Pythagorean numerology — a traditional system linking name letters to numbers. Presented for cultural interest.
Famous people named Audrey
Audrey - similar names
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Ways to spell Audrey
| Variant | Language |
|---|---|
| Audree | English variant |
| Audrie | English variant |
| Audra | Lithuanian/French |
| Etheldred | Old English origin |