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:

    High treason, when it is resistance to tyranny here below, has its origin in, and is first committed by, the power that makes and forever re-creates man.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection—even though nothing more than the pounding of an old piano—is what alone gives a meaning to our life on this unavailing star.
    Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946)