Aubrey

Aubrey
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English, French, German
Origin
MeaningKing of the elves[1]
Other names
Variant form(s)Aubree, Aubrie, Awbery[2]

Aubrey (/ˈɔːbri/) is a traditionally male English name. It was quite common in the Middle Ages, but had lost favour for a time before experiencing a resurgence of popularity in the 19th century.[1][3]

Starting in the United States in the late 20th century, Aubrey began to be commonly used as a given name for girls, potentially transferred from its usage as a surname and/or influenced by Audrey.[1] In 2022, Aubrey was the 81st most popular girls' name in the United States.[4]

Etymology

Look up Aubrey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Aubrey is from the Norman French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich,[5] which consists of the elements alb 'elf' and ric 'power' or 'ruler' ,[1][6] Before being largely replaced by Aubrey after the Norman Conquest of England, the Anglo-Saxons used the native form Ælfrīc.[1]

The mediaeval feminine name Aubrée, independently derived from the Germanic name Alberada, was common in Normandy and Post-Conquest England.[7][8] However, it had fallen out of use entirely by the 15th century and appears to be unconnected with modern usage of Aubrey.[3]

People

Surname

  • Andrew Aubrey, Lord Mayor of London in 1339, 1340, and 1351
  • Anne Aubrey (born 1935), English actress
  • Brandon Aubrey (born 1995), American soccer player and American football placekicker
  • Chris Aubrey (born 1991), English darts player
  • Emlyn Aubrey (born 1964), US professional golfer
  • Various persons named James Aubrey
  • Various persons named John Aubrey
  • Juliet Aubrey (born 1966), English actress
  • Matthew Aubrey (born 1997), Welsh rugby union player
  • Michael Aubrey (born 1982), American baseball player
  • Sam Aubrey (1922–2008), former basketball player and coach of Oklahoma State University
  • Sarah Aubrey, Australian actress
  • Stuart Aubrey (born 1990), Australian politician
  • William Aubrey (died 1595), Welsh lawyer, judge and MP
  • William Aubrey (engineer) (1759–1827), Welsh engineer

Given name

Pre-nineteenth century

Nineteenth century

Modern era

Fictional characters

See also

  • Alberic (name)
  • Audrey (name)
  • Aubry (name)
  • Oberon

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. OCLC 67869278. Retrieved 12 Oct 2023.
  2. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-19-252747-9.
  3. ^ a b E. G. Withycombe (1977). The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (Third ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 10, 35. ISBN 9780192812131. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Popularity of a Name". Social Security Administration. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  5. ^ Albert Dauzat (préface de Marie-Thérèse Morlet), Noms et prénoms de France, éditions Larousse 1980, p. 14b.
  6. ^ Harrison, Henry; Harrison, Gyda Pulling, eds. (1996) [1912]. Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8063-0171-6.
  7. ^ Auguste Longnon (1929). Les noms de lieu de la France; leur origine, leur signification, leurs transformations (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Éditions Champion. p. 483. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  8. ^ François de Beaurepaire, ed. (1981). Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure (in French). Paris: Éditions Picard. p. 123. ISBN 9782708400672. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.