Aubrey

English

Alternative forms

• Aubreigh, Awbrey

Etymology

From Middle English Aubrey, Aubry, from Norman Auberi, Alberi, from Latin Albericus, Latinized form of Old High German Alberich, from Proto-Germanic *Albirīks, from *albiz (“elf, fairy”) +‎ *rīks (“king, ruler”). Possibly influenced by Gaulish Albiorīx (literally "ruler of the world"). Cognates include German Alberich and Italian Alberico.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔːbɹi/

• Audio

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Proper noun

Aubrey

1. An English patronymic surname.
2. A male given name from the Germanic languages or transferred from the surname.
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

     Call him my king, by whose injurious doom / My elder brother, the Lord Aubrey Vere, / Was done to death?

3. A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1970s and later American usage.

References

• E. G. Withycombe (1977) The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names‎^[1], Third edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, retrieved 12 December 2023, pages 9, 35