Name of the Week

 

Part Anglo-Saxon, part Scandinavian — Auden is a rare
surname-firstname. But in a world where Aiden, Austin and Ashton
fill nursuries, there's definitely room for Auden.

 

Origin:

Auden is one member of a family of cognate surnames including Alden, Aldin, Allden, Aldine and Olden. This group derive from the medieval names Aldanus, Aldine and Aldene, Latinised forms of two distinct Old English names: * Healfdene — an Anglo-Scandinavian name meaning "half Dane," cognate with the Old Norse Halfdanr (Halfdan) which was famously borne by a legendary Danish king of the Scylding immortalised in the poem Beowulf. It was recorded in the Middle Ages in the forms Haldane, Haldein, Aldein, Aldeyn, Halden, Alden, Aldene, Aldan, Haldanus and Aldanus.  * Ealdwine — from the Old English eald "old" and wine "friend." In the Middle Ages it was recorded in the forms Elduinus, Heldewin, Aldwinus, Alduin, Aldine, Aldyne and Aldene.

Usage:

The similarity in the medieval forms of Healfdene and Ealdwine overtime became merged together into the surnames Auden, Alden, Allden etc.  Naturally, as with all surnames, Auden has had some use as a first name since at least the 16th century, though until recently, it has been extremely rare in use. There are no birth registrations for the name in England and Wales during the 19th century, and only a handful were registered from the late 1930s onwards.  Since 1996, Auden has ranked six times: 2005 (#3849, 3 births), 2007 (#4333, 3 births), 2009 (#3227, 5 births), 2010 (#3332, 5 births), 2011 (#4647, 3 births) and 2012 (#3039, 6 births). This was solely for boys; it has not ranked at all for girls during this period. That Auden has ranked consecutively for the last four years (in its first consistent run), and was as its highest rank so far last year, perhaps shows a widening place for it alongside the likes of Aiden, Ashton and Austin.  Even in the US, where they are generally ahead of us in many surname-firstname trends, there is a similar emerging picture for the use of Auden. Though it hasn't ranked within their Top 1000 in the last 13 years, a quick glance at the raw data shows the name is also quietly rising in use. Below are the birth counts for the name Auden in America across selected years: 1990: 0  1991: 7  1992: 0  1993: 12  1997: 10 2000: 16, 6 2003: 43, 6 2007: 57, 24 2010: 50, 23 2011: 60, 29 2012: 63, 27

Famous Bearers:

History:  * John Bicknell Auden (1903–1991), English geologist and explorer. * W. H. Auden (1907–1973), acclaimed British poet. Celebrity Babies: * Auden McCaw (b.2000), son of Amber Valletta and Chip McCaw. * Auden Wyle (b.2005), daughter of Noah Wyle.

Variants:

Alden

Pronunciation:

OR-dən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Aud, Audie, Orry

Sibling Names:

Wren     Avalon     Briar     Elara      Iris     Bronte  Grayson     Vaughn     Theon     Blaine     Jowan     Lorcan

Name Lists:

N/A

 

If you like Auden you may also like:   Alden, Aodhan, Rohan, Lachlan, Austen, Corben, Arden, Findlay, Audric, Caelan

 

Thanks to Bethany for requesting Auden.