Name of the Week

 

Like Avery, Aubrey is a sleek surname-style first name
with Germanic routes, a French twist and Norman namesakes.

 

Origin:

Aubrey is the English vernacular form of two distinct Germanic names: Alberic - The masculine Germanic Albirich is made up of the elements alb "elf" and reiks "ruler, powerful, rich, king," cognate with the Anglo-Saxon Aelfric. It was Latinised as Albericus, becoming Alberi/Albri in Old French, with the l later becoming vocalised as Auberi and Aubri. Alberada - Feminine Alberada was composed of the elements alb "elf" and radi" counsel, advice," equivalent to Alfred in Old English. Alberad was also used as a masculine name, but it was the feminine Alberada which became Albreda in 12th and 13th century Latin records. In Old French both Alberada and Alberad became Alverat, Alberad and Albray which was vocalised as Aubree and Auberee. Both Alberich's Aubri and Alberada's Aubree became Aubrey in vernacular English.

Usage:

Alberich appears in ancient Germanic legend as chief of the Nibelungen race of dwarfs who guards the treasure of the Nibelungen. His name was translated into French as Auberon / Oberon and became known throughout medieval and Renaissance literature as the king of the fairies. Albericus and Alberada were not uncommon names in 11th century Europe and both were brought over to Britain by the Normans. Aubrey (Alberic) de Coucy, for example, was a Norman baron who was given the earldom of Northumbria by William the Conqueror and Alberada of Buonalbergo (1059–1085) was daughter of Reginald I, Count of Burgundy and first wife of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia. The Domesday Book of 1086 particularly notes one Norman by the name of Albericus de Vere (Aubrey de Vere) who held land in six counties. His son, also named Aubrey de Vere, became master chamberlain of England and his grandson Aubrey was made the first Earl of Oxford. Needless to say, Aubrey has been a notable name in the de Vere family ever since. The 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire list three males named Alvered, one Albredus (Aubrey) and three women named Albreda, demonstrating its unisex use from the 11th to 14th century. At this time, the surnames Aubray, Aubrey, Aubry, Aubery, Aubury, Awbery and Owbry came in to use, though now, given the common use of Aubrey for both sexes, it is almost impossible to determine which forms came from Alberic and which from Alberada. In the 17th century, Aubrey was still in use for both boys and girls, though more commonly for boys. Its gender usage was largely based on location. A whole bevy of boys with the name were baptised in Hereford and the surrounding counties, while Norfolk (where Audrey was not uncommon) saw a few girls named Abry. By the 18th century, Albreda seems to have been used less as Aubrey and more as the form Aphra and Aufra. Aubrey itself therein was almost exclusively masculine in use from that time unless used as a middle name for girls (though this was most likely due to adoption of a family surname rather than first name). Aubrey grew in popularity during the 19th century. In 1880 Aubrey ranked #160 for boys in England and Wales, rising to #153 in 1890 and #130 in 1900 with 195 births. This was very much the peak of Aubrey's popularity, as can be seen from Leslie Dunkling's data for the number of boys registered with the name Aubrey in every 10,000 births in England and Wales.  1900 1925  1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990     8     6     4             2      1              The popularity of Aubrey since 1996 in England and Wales has been steadily rising for boys. A short time after Aubrey began to rise for boys, it has also seen a resurrection for girls:     Aubrey  Aubrey  Aubree 1996 #1765 (6) - - 1997 #1578 (7)  - - 1998 #1642 (7)  - - 1999 #1664 (7)  - - 2000 #3036 (3)  - - 2001 #2587 (4) - - 2002 #1799 (7)  - - 2003 #3467 (3) - - 2004 #1732 (9) - - 2005 #1716 (10)  - - 2006 #1892 (9) - - 2007 #1756 (11) #5201 (3)  - 2008 #1242 (19)  #3005 (7)  - 2009 #1425 (16)  #3422 (6)  -  2010 #1407 (17) #3156 (7)  - 2011 #1209 (21)  #2275 (11)  #3549 (6)  2012 #1051 (26)  #1253 (26)  #1253 (26)   * Numbers in brackets indicate the number of births in that year. Usage of the name in Scotland has only ranked a few times in recent years and equally used by both genders: 2005 (#1215, 1 birth), 2006 (#1144 , 1 birth) (#1259, 1 birth) and 2009: #1081 (1 birth). In 2012 Aubrey ranked #815 (3 births) for girls and #819 (2 births) for boys.

Famous Bearers:

History:  * Aubrey de Troisfontaines (d. c. 1250), French chronicler of the 13th century. * Aubrey de Vere III (c. 1115–1194), first Earl of Oxford. * Aubrey Thomas de Vere (1814–1902), Irish poet. * Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), English artist, illustrator, and author. * Aubrey de Sélincourt (1894–1962), British writer, classical scholar and translator. * Aubrey Newman (1904–1994), British historian and professor. Contemporary: * Aubrey Morris (b. 1926), English actor. * Aubrey Huff (b. 1976), American baseball player. * Aubrey Dollar (b. 1980), American actress. * Aubrey O'Day (b. 1984), American singer. * Aubrey Drake Graham (b.orn 1986), Canadian rapper and actor: stage name "Drake". Other: * Aubrey, 1980 British cartoon series.

Variants:

Auberic, Alberic

Pronunciation:

OR-bree [key]

Possible diminutives:

Bray, Boy

Sibling Names:

Sylvia     Elsa     Caroline     Honor     Flora     Penelope   Digby     Montague     Rollo     Emmett     Milo     Jolyon

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Victorian Darlings

 

If you like Aubrey you may also like:   Quincy, Percy, Willoughby, Stanley, Harvey, Jolyon, Avery, Everett, Bertram, Sidney, Hugo

 

Thanks to Jennifer for requesting this post.