Audrey Name Meaning

By
Sarah Vanbuskirk
Sarah Vanbuskirk
Sarah Vanbuskirk

Sarah Vanbuskirk is a writer and editor with 20 years of experience covering parenting, health, wellness, lifestyle, and family-related topics. Her work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites, including Activity Connection, Glamour, PDX Parent, Self, TripSavvy, Marie Claire, and TimeOut NY.

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Published on November 16, 2021
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 by
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What Does Audrey Mean?

Audrey is a beautiful, classic, sophisticated name that's still unique enough to feel fresh and fun. It's also imbued with plenty of movie star glam thanks to namesake Audrey Hepburn. Additionally, it's an A name for those that are looking for a name that starts with the vowel and/or a letter at the beginning of the alphabet. It also doesn't tend to get shortened to a nickname as often as most names.

Audrey, a well-known English name, originated from the Anglo-Norman words for "noble" and "strength." Related meanings of the name include supernatural power and honorable. It is also related to the Anglo-Saxon names Aethelthryth, Ethelreda, and Ethelred.

  • Origin: Audrey is an English name meaning noble strength.
  • Gender: Audrey is most commonly used as a girl name.
  • Pronunciation: awe-d-rhee

Although many baby names are separated by gender, Verywell Family believes that sex does not need to play a role in your name selection process. It’s important to select a name that you feel suits your new baby the best.

How Popular Is the Name Audrey?

While numerous similarly classic, old-fashioned baby names, such as Olivia, Ava, Amelia, Sophia, Charlotte, and Evelyn, have soared in the popularity charts, Audrey hasn't broken the top 30 in the past 100 years. However, over the past century, Audrey has consistently been in the top 200 names. In the 1920s and 1930s, the name had a fairly consistent ranking of between 58 and 99. After that, Audrey's usage dipped a bit.

The name has become increasingly common as of late, moving from a ranking of 115 in 2000 to 60 in 2020. Its most recent peak in popularity came in 2013 when the name was the No. 33 most frequently used girl name.

Name Variations

The following are variations and related names of the name Audrey:

  • Addie
  • Alberic
  • Aldred
  • Audra
  • Audre
  • Audrea
  • Dre
  • Drea
  • Drey
  • Ethel

Similar Names

Similar sounding names to Audrey:

  • Adele
  • Dorothy
  • Octave
  • Octavia
  • Olive
  • Olivia
  • Oscar

Other girl names starting with A:

  • Addison
  • Alison
  • Amber
  • Amberlyn
  • Amy
  • Aubrey
  • August
  • Austin

Common Nicknames

While Audreys often get called by their full name, there are some common nicknames they can be called:

  • Aud
  • Auddie
  • Dree
  • Drese

Suggested Silbing Names

Great options for a sibling name for Audrey include the following:

Famous People Named Audrey

The most famous person named Audrey is the Hollywood Golden Age screen icon, Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn's grace, style, charm, and elegance will forever be associated with this name. But there are many other notable Audreys from today and throughout history as well.

  • Audrey Flack, American artist known for her paintings, sculpture, and work in photorealism
  • Audrey Kitching, American model, fashion designer, and blogger
  • Audrey Meadows, American TV actress who played housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s hit sitcom "The Honeymooners"
  • Audrey Tautou, French actress most famous for her star turn in the 2001 film "Amélie"
  • Ethelred Anna Maria Bennet, a prominent, pioneering late 18th to early 19th-century geologist
  • St. Audrey (also known as St. Ethelreda), the saint of neck and throat complaints who was a popular saint in the Middle Ages

More Baby Names

Still searching for the perfect baby name? Check out these related baby name lists for even more options: 

2 Sources
Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Hanks P, Hardcastle K, Hodges F. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press; 2016.

  2. Social Security Administration. Popularity of name Audrey.

By Sarah Vanbuskirk
Sarah Vanbuskirk is a writer and editor with 20 years of experience covering parenting, health, wellness, lifestyle, and family-related topics. Her work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites, including Activity Connection, Glamour, PDX Parent, Self, TripSavvy, Marie Claire, and TimeOut NY.

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