Given name & surname
Aud
“noble”·“strength”
Aud is a variant of Audrey. The Old English elements mean “noble” and “strength.” The later connection with tawdry concerns the name’s cultural history, not its original meaning.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Aud is a variant of Audrey. The Old English elements mean “noble” and “strength.” The later connection with tawdry concerns the name’s cultural history, not its original meaning.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Aud is a variant of Audrey. Audrey is an English development of the Old English feminine name Æðelþryð, also known in Latinized form as Etheldreda.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Aud is a variant of Audrey. The shared background comes through Audrey: Audrey shortens Æðelþryð, built from æðel, “noble,” and þryð, “strength.” A separate word-history developed when Saint Audrey was divided differently in speech, producing tawdry for goods associated with fairs held in her name.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Aud is a variant of Audrey. The history of Audrey gives this family its wider story. Saint Audrey, or Etheldreda, was widely venerated in the Middle Ages. Lace and other fairground goods associated with her name contributed to the word tawdry, an association that later affected the name’s reputation. Shakespeare used Audrey for Touchstone’s sweetheart in As You Like It.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Aud through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 14
- 14 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 9 in 1921. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 136 as a first name in 2020; 674 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Aud’s family of names
In Norwegian usage, Aud shares a linguistic root with the English form Eda. Aud has a related form in Audrey. In Norwegian usage, Aud shares a linguistic root with the German form Oda.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Aud has relatives in 3 languages.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Aud
- Aud Egede-NissenNorwegian actress (1893–1974)
- Aud WilkenDutch singerborn 1965
- Aud Haakonsdottir of LadeLegendary Viking age queen consort901
- Aud SchønemannNorwegian actress (1922–2006)
- Aud-Inger AureNorwegian jurist and politician (1942–2023)
- Aud Blegen SvindlandNorwegian politician and physician (1928-2019)
- Aud HvammenNorwegian alpine skierborn 1943
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Aud, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Autrey
“of noble strength” · “noble”
91% boys · 9% girls
Audfis
“noble” · “strength”
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Audriz
“noble” · “strength”
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Autree
“of noble strength”
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Audriza
“noble” · “strength”
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Audrissa
“noble” · “strength”
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Audrysa
“noble” · “strength”
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Audrisya
“noble” · “strength”
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