Audrey - Origin and Meaning

Origin and Meaning

It has a double etymology : the first element Au-d- in both cases is ultimately from the Anglo-Saxon ethel (also spelled æðel) meaning "noble".

The second element -d-rey can be rǣd, rēd "advice, opinion, happiness", so Æthelred > Aldred, Eldred in Middle-English is a masculine name. The phonetical shift Aldred > Audrey is typical for the Anglo-Norman language, a Langue d'oïl, close related to Old French.

The second element can be thruth (also spelled þryð) "strength", because Saint Æthelthrut(h) is called Saint Audrey too.

Read more about this topic:  Audrey

Famous quotes containing the words origin and/or meaning:

    “The origin of storms is not in clouds,
    our lightning strikes when the earth rises,
    spillways free authentic power:
    dead John Brown’s body walking from a tunnel
    to break the armored and concluded mind.”
    —Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)

    “Art is skill, that is the first meaning of the word.”
    —Eric Gill (1882–1940)